Travel Medicine Curricula across Canadian Pharmacy Programs and Alignment with Scope of Practice.

Heidi V.J Fernandes,Sherilyn K.D Houle,Brittany Cook

doi:10.3390/pharmacy8020102

Heidi V.J Fernandes, Sherilyn K.D Houle + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy8020102

Copy DOI

Abstract

Limited research exists on pharmacy students’ training in travel medicine, and how this aligns with scope of practice. This research aimed to detail travel medicine education across pharmacy programs in Canada and map this against the scope of practice for pharmacists in each university’s jurisdiction. A survey based on the International Society of Travel Medicine’s Body of Knowledge was developed and distributed to all Canadian undergraduate pharmacy schools to identify topic areas taught, teaching modalities utilized, and knowledge assessment performed. Educational data was collected and analyzed descriptively, and compared to pharmacists’ scope of practice in the province in which each university is located. Training provided to students varied significantly across universities and topic areas, with topics amenable to self-care (e.g., traveller’s diarrhea and insect bite prevention) or also encountered outside of the travel context (e.g., sexually transmitted infections) taught more regularly than travel-specific topics (e.g., dengue and altitude illness). No apparent relationship was observed between a program’s curriculum and their provincial scope of practice. For example, training in vaccine-preventable diseases did not necessarily align with scope related to vaccine administration. Alignment of education to current and future scope will best equip new practitioners to provide care to travelling patients.

Highlights

The scope of practice for pharmacists in Canada varies by province/territory; most jurisdictions have implemented expansions in scope that facilitate the provision of travel medicine care by pharmacists [1]
A cross-sectional survey was conducted to capture the various areas of travel medicine that are covered in pharmacy curricula across the ten pharmacy schools in Canada [22]
STIs can be acquired both domestically and abroad and, is a core component of many infectious disease curricula. These are both examples of topics included in the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM)’s Body of Knowledge that were taught by all participating programs (n = 8) that can traverse beyond the realm of travel medicine

Summary

Introduction

The scope of practice for pharmacists in Canada varies by province/territory; most jurisdictions have implemented expansions in scope that facilitate the provision of travel medicine care by pharmacists [1]. 1000 hours of experience can apply for Extended Practice Pharmacist status, which allows them to prescribe travel-related vaccines or medications [3]. For Alberta and Manitoba, typical travel medications that can be prescribed by pharmacists would include, but are not limited to, antibiotics for travellers’ diarrhea such as azithromycin, malaria chemoprophylaxis such as atovaquone/proguanil, and agents to prevent altitude illness such as acetazolamide [2,3]. In New Brunswick, all pharmacists can prescribe for “preventable diseases” including vaccines for cholera, hepatitis, measles, mumps, and rubella, and drugs for malaria and travellers’ diarrhea, while those with CTH® can prescribe vaccines against rabies, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, and yellow fever [6].

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion