Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Apr 2022)
Continuing Pharmacy Education: Exploring the Status and Future Prospects in Nepal
Abstract
Asmita Priyadarshini Khatiwada,1 Sunil Shrestha,1,2 Binaya Sapkota,2 Sujyoti Shakya,1 Rajeev Shrestha,3 Rohullah Roien,4 Akihiko Ozaki,5 Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim6 1Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Service Research, Nepal Health Research and Innovation Foundation, Lalitpur, Nepal; 2Nobel College Faculty of Health Sciences, Affiliated to Pokhara University, Kathmandu, Province Bagmati, Nepal; 3Department of Pharmacy, District Hospital Lamjung, Lamjung, Nepal; 4Medical Research Centre, Kateb University, Kabul, Afghanistan; 5Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan; 6Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice, College of Pharmacy, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, QatarCorrespondence: Asmita Priyadarshini Khatiwada, Department of Pharmaceutical and Health Service Research, Nepal Health Research and Innovation Foundation, Lalitpur, Nepal, Email [email protected] Rohullah Roien, Medical Research Centre, Kateb University, Kabul, Afghanistan, Email [email protected]: Continuing pharmacy education (CPE) is an educational way for pharmacy professionals to develop competency in providing quality pharmaceutical care to patients. The CPE program helps maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills, increase the professionalism of pharmacists, and positively impact patient health outcomes. However, the concept and practice of CPE are still in their infancy in Nepal. Nepal’s conventional pharmacy education system involves didactic lectures focusing more on theoretical learning than practical and experiential approaches, leading to the generation of pharmacists theoretically knowledgeable but practically non-competent to deliver pharmaceutical care services in independent practice settings. Additionally, in the absence of CPE, the professionals might miss updated information on new therapies, technologies, and approaches in patient management. The community and hospital pharmacies in Nepal are often business-oriented rather than service, and may not even be staffed by pharmacists, so the CPE programs are rarely conducted for the pharmacy professionals. Hence, the present commentary aimed to explore the status of CPE and its barriers or challenges in implementation and to suggest solutions in Nepal.Keywords: continuing professional development, continuing pharmacy education, competency, Nepal, pharmacists