Pharmacy Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Evaluation of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

Abstract

Methods: In the Netherlands, the pharmacy degree is obtained after 6 years of university training complying with Dublin descriptors, a model for higher education aiming at comparable qualifications in all European universities. In 2006, at the University of Groningen, we introduced an eight week pharmacy practice research internship as part of the six months pharmacy traineeship which is obligatory in the European Union (EU). The students learn how to design, implement and present a pharmacy practice research project. Research questions are raised by practicing pharmacists. Results should be applicable for the hosting (hospital) pharmacy in daily practice. Excellent papers are submitted to scientific journals. We analyzed all pharmacy practice research proposals which have been carried out between 2006 and 2013. Results: A total of 409 projects were carried out (average 56 projects (range 33-78) annually). Of those 58% were carried out in a community pharmacy and the rest in a hospital setting. Overall, 52% of projects were about pharmaceutical care (eg medication reviews, first prescription counseling) or about therapeutic guidelines (eg implementation of the new osteoporosis guideline). Projects on logistics or quality management were also frequently carried out (22%). In hospital pharmacies, unlike community pharmacies, some students had the opportunity to research therapeutic drug monitoring or (small scale) production issues. Overall, 138 pharmacies were involved (109 community and 29 hospitals). Conclusions: Pharmacy Practice Research Internship in our university is a successful collaboration with a large network of practicing pharmacists in the region; The projects reflect current issues in both community and hospital pharmacies. In the future we aim to carry out multicenter studies to improve generalizability and thereby enhance the scientific quality of the projects.