In Pakistan, courses in pharmacy practice, which are an essential component of the PharmD curriculum, were launched with the aim of strengthening pharmacy practice overall and enabling pharmacy students to cope with the challenges involved in meeting real-world healthcare needs. Since very little research has assessed the efficacy of such courses, we aimed to evaluate students' perceptions of pharmacy practice courses and their opinions about whether their current knowledge of the topics covered in pharmacy practice courses is adequate for future practice.
PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to compare the knowledge and attitudes of pharmacy and medical students regarding adverse drug reactions (ADRs), as well as their perceptions of barriers to ADR reporting, in a Higher Education Commission-recognised Pakistani university.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among final-year pharmacy (n=91) and medical (n=108) students in Pakistan from June 1 to July 31, 2014. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The responses of pharmacy students were compared to those of medical students.
RESULTS: Pharmacy students had a significantly better knowledge of ADRs than medical students (mean±SD, 5.61±1.78 vs. 3.23±1.60; P<0.001). Gender showed a significant relationship to knowledge about ADRs, and male participants were apparently more knowledgeable than their female counterparts (P<0.001). The attitudes of pharmacy students regarding their capability to handle and report ADRs were significantly more positive than those of medical students (P<0.05). In comparison to pharmacy students, a lack of knowledge of where and how to report ADRs was the main barrier that medical students perceived to ADR reporting (P=0.001).
CONCLUSION: Final-year pharmacy students exhibited more knowledge about ADRs and showed more positive attitudes regarding their capacity to handle and report ADRs than final-year medical students.
KEYWORDS: Comparison; Medical; Pakistan; Pharmacovigilance; Pharmacy; Students