A comparison between the delivery of genomic and pharmacogenomic education and training for pharmacy undergraduates between the UK and other international countries: A narrative review

Abstract

Genomics is perceived to impact healthcare in the United Kingdom and pharmacy professionals are believed to have a key role in the delivery of pharmacogenomic services.

Purpose

To compare the delivery of genomic education within pharmacy undergraduate training between the UK and other countries.

Method

Six electronic databases were searched including MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library using variations of the terms pharmacogenomic, genomics and education, looking at all levels of education. No date restrictions were applied. Studies were then screened for duplicates and eligibility for inclusion.

Results

Fifty studies were included and categorised into three main themes: identifying training requirements, training methods, and curriculum design/review. Most studies (n = 30) were from the United States. Many international studies highlighted the need to improve pharmacy undergraduate pharmacogenomic training. The pharmacist pharmacogenomic focussed competencies available in the United States have underpinned the development of pharmacist pharmacogenomic education and many studies described a mixed-methods approach to education delivery to ensure pharmacy student pharmacogenomic competence. The curricula evaluation in the Unites States and Australia demonstrated improved pharmacogenomic content within school of pharmacy curriculums but lacks nationwide standardisation.

Conclusions

This review demonstrates global growth in pharmacy pharmacogenomic education, particularly in the US, where competencies and delivery methods have been defined and explored across institutions. The United Kingdom should develop its own competency framework to guide pharmacogenomic education for pharmacy undergraduates. This would support efforts to standardise genomic content in UK pharmacy curricula and promote the creation of standardised tools for effective training across all pharmacy schools.