Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Strategic analysis of clinical pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia

Ahmad A Almeman

Pharmacology and Therapeutic Department, College of Medicine, Qassim, Qassim University;

For correspondence:- Email: meman@qu.edu.sa Tel:+966505393494

Accepted: 21 May 2020 Published: 30 June 2020

Citation: Almeman AA. Strategic analysis of clinical pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(6):1303-1311 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i6.27

© 2020 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the strategic position of clinical pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia and ensure that it meets the needs of the current industry in the country.

Methods: A comprehensive and structured analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) was performed with more than 100 clinical pharmacists, academic staff, and students as participants. An internal factor evaluation (IFE), external factor evaluation (EFE), and SWOT matrix were conducted to compare the provisions of the current system with market needs.

Results: The analysis involved more than 40 academic staff members, 35 clinical pharmacists, 50 students, and several administrative staff members. The EFE and IFE were calculated as 2.06 and 2.2, respectively, and were lower than the accepted international standard. The internal and external analyses involved 37 and 20 items, respectively. Finally, a SWOT matrix was constructed to help for proposing the strategies. Several strategies were recommended to address eventual shortcomings.

Conclusion: The great paradigm shifts in the pharmaceutical market warrant an equal paradigm shift in clinical pharmacy education. More strategic data are needed to further analyze the market in the next five to ten years. Adopting the current educational modality to best match the needs of the pharmaceutical market is also essential.

Keywords: Clinical pharmacy, Education, SWOT analysis, Strategic planning