Search

Background: Traditionally, graduates from colleges of pharmacy in Saudi Arabia work mainly in hospital settings, and only a few graduates work in other practice settings. However, several initiatives and national plans have recently been introduced to facilitate employment in community pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry/companies. Consequently, the objectives of this study were to explore the current state of career placement, type of employment sectors, and practice settings that Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) graduates join based on recent developments in the profession. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The target population was PharmD graduates from Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Consequently, all 162 graduates from three recent cohorts (2018–2020) were contacted to participate in this survey. Results: A total of 157 graduates participated in this study, yielding a response rate of 96.91 %. Of the participants, 92 (58.6 %) were female graduates. The overall rate of employment was 84.7 %. Moreover, a higher proportion of male graduates than female graduates (97.1 % versus 73.7 %, P = 0.006) were employed. In this study, the three main sectors that the graduates joined were the pharmaceutical industry and companies (41.2 %), community pharmacies (29.4 %), and medical cities, hospitals and clinics (23.5 %). In addition, almost the same proportions of male and female graduates joined the pharmaceutical industry and companies (40.3 % versus 42.1 %). However, a higher proportion of male graduates than female graduates joined community pharmacies (32.3 % versus 26.3 %). Conversely, a higher proportion of female graduates joined medical cities, hospitals and clinics compared to male graduates (28.1 % versus 19.4 %). Conclusion: The current employment of PharmD graduates in the job market is generally high, but further improvement could be made, especially for female graduates. Moreover, the study findings showed that jobs are shifting toward community pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, we believe that decision-makers in pharmacy education and curriculum developers must consider these trends and ensure that there is adequate preparation for careers in community pharmacy practice and other sectors of the profession in the curriculum.

Introduction: Pharmacists have a unique opportunity to promote good health through assuring the quality use of medicines. One of the most important tools to achieve this is medication counseling. Counseling plays an important role in enhancing medication adherence and optimizing medication therapy. Therefore, for improving the quality of services delivered by community pharmacists, it is essential to assess the current situation of counseling services delivered to patients. Aims and objectives: To date, there is a paucity of data regarding the quality of counseling services delivered to patients in community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to fill this gap through evaluating the counseling skills and counseling content delivered by pharmacists in a sample of community pharmacies in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. Methods: The study was conducted at eleven community pharmacies in Qassim region. A convenient sample of community pharmacies was chosen based on their willingness to participate. To gather information, a form was prepared based on the core and complementary drug use indicators for evaluation of drug use in healthcare settings developed by the WHO. The study was conducted through observing the counseling services performed by the community pharmacists who participated in the study. Results: Two hundred and thirty-five forms were completed in eleven community pharmacies. A total of 44.4% of the counseling skills was found to be performed adequately, while only 20.1% of the counseling contents were performed adequately. Conclusions: The overall standard of medication counseling services provided to patients to improve usage of their medications, and consequently, their well-being was poor.