Attitudes of the Fifth Year Pharmacy Students at Chiang Mai University toward the Pharmaceutical Care Subject

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate attitudes toward the pharmaceutical care subject among the fifth year pharmacy students at Chiang Mai University. Method: The subjects were 83 fifth year pharmacy students who registered for a pharmaceutical care subject (462501) in the first semester of academic year 2008. They completed the questionnaires measuring 5 attitudinal domains: content, class management, teachers and contacting community personnel, student readiness and adjustment, and benefit received from the class. Results: Eighty one students returned the questionnaires (97.6%). Of those, 80.2 percent were female. Among 5 attitudinal domains, students had the highest scores in the domain of benefit received from the class. An average score of all questions in this domain ranged from 3.5 to 4.4. On the other hand, the least positive attitude was from the domain of student readiness and adjustment. Four out of 5 questions had an average score of 2.5-3.4. The remaining one question on whether students had enough time for assignment received from the class had the lowest average score of 2.1. Conclusion: Most students showed positive attitudes toward the pharmaceutical care subject, especially in their perception of beneficial effects on team working, problem solving skill, providing model to work with community, encouraging ethic and pharmacy code of conduct. However, the students perceived that subject management, student readiness and adjustment are needed to be improved.