Pharmaceutical Care Education and Practice in Jordan in the New Millennium

Objectives: Pharmacy practice in Jordan is still developing. Modernization and advancement in pharmacy practice are being slowly adapted by pharmacy professionals and faculties of pharmacy. This study aim was to look into current status of pharmaceutical care in pharmacy education and practice in Jordan. Possible problems that would face Pharmaceutical Care application were explored.Methods: This study consisted of a quantitative part in which the pharmacy curricula from the two governmental universities and four private universities were compared as to how many credit hours are allocated for Pharmaceutical Care education. In the qualitative part, a structured interview was conducted with leaders in the Pharmacy profession. The main theme in the interview was the development and implementation of Pharmaceutical Care education and practice in Jordan. The selected fourteen recognized leaders of pharmacy profession in Jordan were asked to express their views on issues related to status of education, practice, and pharmacy curricula.Results: Current B.Sc. pharmacy curricula in Jordan have a weak emphasis on Pharmaceutical Care education and training. One governmental university (Jordan university of Science and Technology) and two private universities (Philadelphia University and Al-Isra’a Private University) had the highest percentage of their curricular hours allocated to Pharmaceutical- care- related courses. But this was only 20% of total hours required in the pharmacy curriculum. None of the six universities included had a structured patient - oriented training for pharmacy students. In the qualitative part, leaders of pharmacy believe that both the practice and education should be directed towards Pharmaceutical Care. Recognized problems facing this new direction could be: the influence that comes from pharmacy professionals as well as other professions, lack of a proper job description for pharmacists, and the slow change in educational programs.Conclusions: The leadership of pharmacy is in support of changes towards Pharmaceutical Care education and practice, coming from within the profession