Multidisciplinary Integrated Pharmacotherapy Curriculum in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program: Educators’ Perceptions, Views, and Perspectives

BACKGROUND: In pharmacy education, an integrated curriculum in which the full spectrum of foundational and pharmaceutical sciences is integrated with pharmacotherapy and clinical pharmacy is considered relatively new. At Unaizah College of Pharmacy (UCP), Qassim University, Saudi Arabia, a 6-year PharmD program was developed with a multidisciplinary integrated pharmacotherapy curriculum. The integrated pharmacotherapy curriculum represents approximately half of the didactic curriculum. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions, the views, and experiences of academic faculty members regarding the impact and implementation of the multidisciplinary integrated pharmacotherapy curriculum in the PharmD program. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with all pharmacy faculty members involved in the integrated curriculum. The data-capturing technique in this study was a Web-based survey. In addition, the survey included an open-ended section in which the participants were encouraged to provide comments/feedback and share their experiences about the integrated curriculum. RESULTS: The majority of participants (96.88%, n = 31) believed that the integrated curriculum is well suited for developing problem-solving skills needed in pharmacy practice. Similarly, 93.76% (n = 30) believed that the integrated curriculum results in better student learning experiences. Of the participants, 81.26% (n = 26) believed it results in a better understanding and application of pharmaceutical sciences in practice compared with traditional courses. Moreover, 71.88% (n = 23) considered that the required depth and breadth of the content related to their disciplines is achievable with this model. Of all participants, 96.88% (n = 31) believed that the successful implementation of this integrated curriculum needs strong collaboration, effective communication, good coordination between all departments, and a flexible, fully customizable, and effective e-learning system. Moreover, all participants believed that full integration requires careful design and implementation to ensure no overlapping or marginalization of topics/disciplines. In this study, 62.51% (n = 20) believed that the fully integrated curriculum results in a relatively higher workload compared with traditional courses. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of faculty members had positive perceptions regarding the multidisciplinary integrated pharmacotherapy curriculum. Moreover, the majority had positive views and experiences regarding the implementation of this integrated curriculum. The study identified several factors that helped in the successful implementation of this curriculum. Moreover, several challenges have been identified, including more investment in time and effort to implement this fully integrated curriculum.