Opinion of hospital pharmacy practitioners toward the Continuing Pharmacy Education program: a study from a tertiary care hospital in central Nepal

BACKGROUND: Meeting participants’ needs and matching their preferences are important prerequisites for an effective Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) program. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the opinion of hospital pharmacy practitioners with respect to the CPE program. METHODS: The pretested questionnaires were distributed to 20 pharmacy practitioners working in a pharmacy at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal which asked for their opinions and suggestions with respect to the CPE program. Descriptive statistics were performed using IBM SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Topics related to skills development (75%) and recent innovations in pharmacy practice (65%) were mostly preferred. Live (in-person) presentations (80%) and small group discussion (60%) were the most suitable methods for delivery. Improving knowledge (75%), improving skills (60%) and keeping up-to-date in the latest information (60%) were major motivating factors to participate, while lack of time (75%) was a major barrier. Approximately 55% of the participants believed that face-to-face interview was a suitable method for evaluating the effectiveness. Allocation of separate time for the program, assessing baseline knowledge and skills of the participants along with delivery of quality materials in an understandable way were the top common suggestions for improving the CPE program. CONCLUSION: Hospital pharmacy practitioners’ opinions and suggestions were assessed with respect to the CPE program and this was upgraded accordingly to meet their expectations.