Can your patient read this? The need to move to patient-centered medication product labels and patient information leaflets.

Medication product package labels (MPPLs) and patient information leaflets (PILs) are sometimes the last source of information for patients before they take their medications. They provide a setting in which patients can immediately inform themselves about the medication they are taking or reread any content provided by physicians or pharmacists, as needed. Despite the growing number of people who are at risk of vision impairement, some pharmaceutical companies print MPPLs and PILs in fonts that patients cannot read. Problems arising from MPPLs and PILs have been identified as remarkable sources of medication errors and fatalities. As a result, the purpose of this article is to emphasize the need for patient-centered MPPLs and PILs to protect public health.

Undergraduate pharmacy students' perceived learning using a team-based debate approach.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, teaching and learning in higher institutions is moving away from traditional didactic lecture-based learning towards student-centered learning. The objectives of this study were to implement a team debate as a method of teaching and learning about pharmacy regulatory issues, and evaluate students' perceptions of a team debate. METHODS: This was a pre-and post-study with a validated 11-item online questionnaire. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, standard deviations, and percentages), while paired sample t-test was used to compare pre- and post-study mean scores of the survey items. P values < .05 were taken to be statistically significant. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-two students enrolled in a mandatory "Pharmacy Regulation and Control" course at a Nigerian University during the 2020 academic year participated in the study. The average age of the participants was 25.56 ± 2.96 years (Range = 20-38 years), and the majority were males (n = 99, 69.7%). All the questionnaire items and the total score improved significantly (P < .05) after the group debate exercise. CONCLUSION: The study shows that team debate was well received by the participants and demonstrates that incorporation of team-based debate into a didactic style course improved student's self-perceived learning. Thus, it is recommended that pharmacy educators in Nigeria should consider incorporating team debate to complement didactic teaching to enhance learning.

Perceived stress and its predictors, stressors and coping strategies among undergraduate pharmacy students in northern Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacy education may be associated with stress due to the nature of its curriculum and expectations of high-quality services from students on graduation. This study evaluated perceived stress and its predictors, stressors, and coping strategies among undergraduate pharmacy students in northern Nigeria. METHODS: This was a prospective longitudinal study conducted at three randomly selected pharmacy schools in northern Nigeria. The validated 10-item Perceived Stress Scale was used to assess participant stress at the beginning (Time1) and middle (Time2) of the semester. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, a paired sample t-test, point-biserial correlations, and multivariate linear regression at P < .05. RESULTS: The stress scores at Time1 and Time2 of the 866 participants were 18.3 ±â€¯6.0 and 19.3 ±â€¯5.4, respectively. Most participants at both Time1 and Time2 had moderate stress (76.6% and 79.6%, respectively). The multivariate regression analyses revealed gender, marital status, year of study, and access to education funds as significant predictors of stress. Major stressors identified were academic-related (76.3%) and environment-related (24.6%). Time management (69.6%) and relaxation (46.1%) were the major coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate stress was observed among the majority of participants. Identified predictors of stress, stressors, and coping mechanisms were similar to those previously reported in other countries. Although most pharmacy students adopt positive strategies to mitigate stress, pharmacy educators should further adopt holistic initiatives to help students reduce their stress.

Ethics education for contemporary clinical pharmacy practice in Africa.

The paradigm shift to a patient-centred pharmacy practice model has resulted in dramatic increases in the number and variety of ethical and other dilemmas that confront pharmacists in their routine practice. However, ethical problems may go undetected by many pharmacists in most developing countries. Hence, there is a huge need for sound educational preparation of future pharmacists before they are faced with an urgent decision. This paper highlights the urgent need for pharmacy ethics to be adequately taught in schools of pharmacy, especially at the undergraduate and professional levels, so that future pharmacists can begin their professional careers with adequate ethical knowledge, skills, competencies and experience to detect and resolve ethical dilemmas of the contemporary patient-centred pharmacy practice.

Investigation of final-year pharmacy students' views on professionalism and ethics in pharmacy practice: an interventional study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of educational intervention on final-year pharmacy students' views on professional attitudes and actions required for the present day pharmacy practice. METHODS: Final-year pharmacy students (Class 2018) of the largest faculty of pharmacy in north-east Nigeria were enrolled in this study. Interventional lecture and students small group discussions on situational dilemmas in pharmacy practice, highlighting the application of the Oath of Pharmacist and the Pharmacists' Code of Ethics, were instituted. Efficacy of the educational intervention was assessed using eight items of Professionalism in Pharmacy Practice Questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics and paired sample t-test. KEY FINDINGS: Fifty-seven students (82.4% of the entire final-year class) participated in the study and completed the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Of the eight items, seven improved significantly (P < 0.05), whereas the remaining one item also improved but this time with no significant difference. CONCLUSION: This study showed that students' views on attitudes and behaviours related to professionalism and ethics in pharmacy practice improved following an educational intervention.