Teaching social pharmacy: The UK experience

Abstract

Social pharmacy is a relatively recent introduction into the curricula of UK pharmacy schools. As little is known of how this subject area is currently taught, an investigation was undertaken to establish the nature and content of social pharmacy teaching in UK schools of pharmacy. A self-completed questionnaire was issued electronically and via post to the member of academic staff responsible for the design and development of social pharmacy teaching within each UK school of pharmacy. A 100% response rate was achieved. Currently, all pharmacy students in the UK are taught and assessed in social pharmacy. Courses vary in content and emphasis throughout the UK, but they have in common an emphasis on defining and measuring health and illness, social factors and health and health inequalities. Social theory was taught in less than half the schools surveyed. Student contact hours in social pharmacy varied from 7 to 83 h, with a mean of 30 h. In six schools social pharmacy was taught in each year of the course, whilst in three schools it was taught in one year only. Social pharmacy was seen as bringing an additional perspective to both scientific, drug-focussed aspects of the course as well as to the clinical and practice components. In conclusion, social pharmacy is an established and often integrated component of the pharmacy degree at UK schools of pharmacy, which those responsible for teaching see as maintaining or extending its position within the curriculum in future years.