Abstract
Since 2014, select states have allowed pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraception (HC). This study describes student pharmacists’ perceptions of a pharmacist’s scope of practice, education, and interest, and identifies differences between students who have completed didactic HC content in their professional curriculum versus those who have not. A voluntary online survey was emailed to all students in three Georgia pharmacy schools. Descriptive statistics were reported. Likert square responses were dichotomized, and Chi square testing identified differences between groups. A total of 1256 students were invited, 35% completed the survey, of those 68% had received HC didactic content in their curriculum. Regardless of HC education, most students “agree” or “strongly agree” that pharmacists are adequately educated to prescribe HC (92% vs. 86%, p = 0.05) and prescribing HC is within the pharmacist’s scope of practice (89% vs. 84%, p = 0.12). Although not currently permitted in Georgia, most are interested in prescribing (97% vs. 96%, p = 0.5). Of the students who have received HC didactic content, 87% felt “moderately”, “well”, or “extremely well-educated” regarding HC prescribing clinical skills. Regardless of didactic training, pharmacy students believe pharmacists are prepared to prescribe HC and support pharmacist-prescribed HC as a part of their future professional scope of practice.
Highlights
In 2011, 45% of pregnancies in the United States were unintended [1]
Pharmacistprescribed hormonal contraception (HC) is one strategy that has been implemented in an attempt to improve patient access and uptake of these medications
Georgia does not currently permit pharmacist-prescribed HC, but recent data from other non-prescribing states indicate that student pharmacists in their last year of their didactic training currently view this as a professional responsibility [9]
Summary
In 2011, 45% of pregnancies in the United States were unintended [1]. Pharmacistprescribed hormonal contraception (HC) is one strategy that has been implemented in an attempt to improve patient access and uptake of these medications. Data indicate that a majority in all three groups support this expanded scope of practice, and intend to participate if available in their state [2,3,4,5,6]. As public and professional acceptance of pharmacist-prescribed contraception has grown, it is reasonable to believe that pharmacy student training experiences and expectations of their professional activities may have changed compared to pharmacists who started practicing more than 5 years ago. Georgia does not currently permit pharmacist-prescribed HC, but recent data from other non-prescribing states indicate that student pharmacists in their last year of their didactic training (third professional year) currently view this as a professional responsibility [9]
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