Characteristics and outcomes of practice experiences in community pharmacies: A scoping review

Abstract

Background

Pharmaceutical education includes practice experiences to develop in students the competencies required to perform in community pharmacies. However, evidence on practice experiences in community pharmacies was not synthesized in a review.

Objective

This scoping review aims to map, identify, characterize, and summarize the characteristics and outcomes of pharmacy practice experience programs in community pharmacy settings.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted. MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant literature. Studies describing characteristics of pharmacy practice experience programs in community pharmacy settings or evaluating their outcomes were included. Studies were limited to those published from 1990 to 2024.

Results

Fifty-one studies were included in the review. The papers were carried out in 19 different countries of the five continents. Most of the studies (56.9 %) included were published in the period 2016-2023. The most frequent design in the studies included was the quantitative (43.1 %), followed by mixed methods (27.5 %), and qualitative (25.5 %). There was heterogeneity across the globe in denominations of practice experiences. The findings suggested that these experiences impacted students' and preceptors' satisfaction, student's development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and improvements in community pharmacy.

Conclusions

These findings can inform the design and performance of practice experience programs by faculty members and preceptors, guiding them in the selection of characteristics more suitable to the context of their educational institutions and practice sites.