Pharmacy Education in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

As with many countries across the globe, professional pharmacy in Trinidad and Tobago is moving from a product orientated (dispensing medications) to patient centered practice. Such a transformation faces many challenges especially for a developing nation. To alter the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists, Trinidad and Tobago is beginning to enhance existing practice settings, first with upgrading its educational programs. The main change is the introduction of pharmaceutical care as the professional practice mode. The curriculum’s experiential training now includes increased focused on providing students with the new knowledge, skills, and abilities required for pharmaceutical care. Using national data and the most recent figures from the School of Pharmacy at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Trinidad and Tobago Pharmacy Board, this assessment of its health care and its new pharmacy model notes the transformations being carried out in the pharmacy services, along with improvements in pharmacy education. Recommendations and barriers in the context of the Trinbagonian pharmacy health system is also provided.