Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Exploring the challenges for clinical pharmacists in Sudan

  • Research Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background Clinical pharmacy practice in hospitals is a new role for pharmacists in Sudan. Pharmacists have to face the challenge of moving from their traditional roles within the pharmacy premises to new roles on the wards with direct contact with patients and other healthcare professionals. Objectives To explore the role and challenges facing the clinical pharmacists of Sudan. Settings Two of the main government hospitals in Sudan and an online survey. Method This study applied a two phase mixed method, a focus group discussion and a survey. A FGD was conducted with the clinical pharmacists in two of the main government hospitals in Sudan. This was followed by an on-line survey among the clinical pharmacists of Sudan. Main outcome measure The role of the clinical pharmacists of Sudan and the challenges facing clinical pharmacy practice. Results Four pharmacists participated in the focus group and 51 out of 140 pharmacists (34%) completed the on-line survey. The roles that were perceived by the majority of pharmacists as part of their duties in hospitals in Sudan were identifying drug-related problems (100%, n = 51), providing drug-related information to healthcare professionals by (96%, n = 47), and educating patients about their medicines (96%, n = 48). The pharmacists identified a number of obstacles that hindered their progress in practice. These obstacles were related to the pharmacists themselves, the lack of senior clinical pharmacists for leadership, the environment they were working in and the training they had received in clinical pharmacy. Conclusion The new clinical pharmacists in Sudan faced several challenges that need to be overcome in order to move forward in their clinical practice. To do so they will require support from pharmacy educational institutions, other healthcare professionals and the healthcare institutions they are working within.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. McLeod DC. Clinical pharmacy: the past, present and future. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1976;33(1):29–38.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hepler CD, Strand LM. Opportunities and responsibilities in pharmaceutical care. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1990;47(3):533–43.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Francke GN. Evolvement of Clinical Pharmacy. Drug Intell Clin Pharm. 1969;3:348–54.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Weidenmayer K, Summers RS, Mackie CA, Gous AGS, Everard M, Tromp D. Developing pharmacy practice FIP, WHO.pdf; 2006.

  5. American College of clinical Pharmacy. The definition of clinical pharmacy. Pharmacotherpay. 2008;28(6):816–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hepler CD. Pharmacy as a clinical profession. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1985;42(6):1298–306.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Smith WE. Clinical pharmacy: reflections and forecasts. Ann Pharmacother. 2007;41(2):325–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Anderson RD. The peril of deprofessionalization. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2004;61:2373–9.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hammer DP. Professional attitudes and behaviors: the “A’s and B’s” of professionalism. Am J Pharm Educ. 2000;64(4):455–64.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Schafheutle EI, Hassell K, Ashcroft DM, Harrison S. Organizational philosophy as a new perspective on understanding the learning of professionalism. Am J Pharm Educ. 2013;77(10):214.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Dale MA, Coopeland R, Barton R. Prescribing errors on medical wards and the impactof clinical pharmacists. Int J Pharm Pract. 2003;11(1):19–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Bond CA, Raehl CL, Franke T. Interrelationships among mortality rates, drug costs, total cost of care, and length of stay in United States hospitals: summary and recommendations for clinical pharmacy services and staffing. Pharmacotherapy. 2001;21(2):129–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Boyko WL Jr, Yurkowski PJ, Ivey MF, Armitstead JA, Roberts BL. Pharmacist influence on economic and morbidity outcomes in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 1997;54(14):1591–5.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Horning KK, Hoehns JD, Doucette WR. Adherence to clinical practice guidelines for 7 chronic conditions in long-term-care patients who received pharmacist disease management services versus traditional drug regimen review. J Manag Care Pharm. 2007;13(1):28–36.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Howard RL, Avery AJ, Howard PD, Partridge M. Investigation into the reasons for preventable drug related admissions to a medical admissions unit: observational study. Qual Saf Health Care. 2003;12(4):280–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Leape LL, Cullen DJ, Clapp MD, Burdick E, Demonaco HJ, Erickson JI, et al. Pharmacist participation on physician rounds and adverse drug events in the intensive care unit. JAMA. 1999;282(3):267–70.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Miller G, Franklin BD, Jacklin A. Including pharmacists on consultant-led ward rounds: a prospective non-randomised controlled trial. Clin Med J R Coll Phys. 2011;11(4):312–6.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Revised FIP Basel Statements on the future of hospital pharmacists. 2015 Cited 10 June 2017. http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js22090en/.

  19. Directorate of Pharmacy MoH, Sudan. Pharmacy Statistics Report. 2007.

  20. Directorate of Pharmacy MoH, Sudan Policy of Hospital Pharmacy 2006 (cited 4 Oct 2010). www.pharmacy.gov.sd. Accessed 20 Aug 2012.

  21. Smith F. Research methods in pharmacy practice. London: Pharmaceutical Press; 2002. p. 144.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Al-Amer R, Ramjan L, Glew P, Darwish M, Salamonson Y. Language translation challenges with Arabic speakers participating in qualitative research studies. Int J Nurs Stud. 2016;54:150–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Choi J, Kushner KE, Mill J, Lai DW. Understanding the language, the culture, and the experience: translation in cross-cultural research. Int J Qual Methods. 2012;11(5):652–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Esposito N. From meaning to meaning: the influence of translation techniques on non-English focus group research. Qual Health Res. 2001;11(4):568–79.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Krueger RA. Focus groups: a practical guide for applied research. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage; 1994. p. 255.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Al Hamarneh YN, Rosenthal M, McElnay JC, Tsuyuki RT. Pharmacists’ perceptions of their professional role: insights into hospital pharmacy culture. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2011;64(1):31–5.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Hall J, Rosenthal M, Family H, Sutton J, Hall K, Tsuyuki RT. Personality traits of hospital pharmacists: toward a better understanding of factors influencing pharmacy practice change. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2013;66(5):289–95.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Rosenthal M, Austin Zubin, Tsuyuki Ross T. Are pharmacists the ultimate barrier to pharmacy practice change? Can Pharm J/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada. 2010;143(1):37–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Awad A, Matowe L, Capps P. Medical doctors’ perceptions and expectations of the role of hospital pharmacists in Sudan. Pharm World Sci. 2007;29:557–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Matowe L, Abahussain EA, Al-Saffar N, Bihzad SM, Al-Foraih A, Al-Kandery AA. Physicians’ perceptions and expectations of pharmacists’ professional duties in government hospitals in Kuwait. Med Princ Pract. 2006;15(3):185–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Smith WE, Ray MD, Shannon DM. Physicians’ expectations of pharmacists. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2002;59(1):50–7.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Tahaineh LM, Wazaify M, Albsoul-Younes A, Khader Y, Zaidan M. Perceptions, experiences, and expectations of physicians in hospital settings in Jordan regarding the role of the pharmacist. Res Soc Adm Pharm: RSAP. 2009;5(1):63–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Zaidan M, Singh R, Wazaify M, Tahaineh L. Physicians’ perceptions, expectations, and experience with pharmacists at Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar. J Multidiscip Healthcare. 2011;4:85–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Cousins DH, Luscombe DK. Forces for change and the evolution of clinical pharmacy practice. Pharm J. 1995;255:771–6.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Abu Farha R, Alefishat E, Suyagh M, Elayeh E, Mayyas A. Evidence-based medicine use in pharmacy practice: a cross-sectional survey. J Eval Clin Pract. 2014;. doi:10.1111/jep.12212.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Provost GP. Clinical pharmacy-speciality or general direction? Drug Intell Clin Pharm. 1972;6(8):285.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Mohamed SS. Current state of pharmacy education in the Sudan. Am J Pharm Educ. 2011;75(4):65a.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Phillips JO, Strand LM, Chesteen SA, Morley PC. Functional and structural prerequisites for clinical pharmacy services. Am J Hosp Pharm. 1987;44(7):1598–605.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Penm J, Moles R, Wang H, Li Y, Chaar B. Factors affecting the implementation of clinical pharmacy services in China. Qual Health Res. 2014;24(3):345–56.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Elvey R, Hassell K, Hall J. Who do you think you are? Pharmacists’ perceptions of their professional identity. Int J Pharm Pract. 2013;21(5):322–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the pharmacists who voluntarily participated in this study.

Funding

This study was part of a PhD scholarship from the University of Bath. The authors would like to thank the Gordon Memorial College for its financial support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Hwaida Elsadig & Jenny Scott

  2. Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Marjorie Weiss

  3. University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Raisa Laaksonen

Authors
  1. Hwaida Elsadig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marjorie Weiss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jenny Scott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Raisa Laaksonen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hwaida Elsadig.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

None.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Elsadig, H., Weiss, M., Scott, J. et al. Exploring the challenges for clinical pharmacists in Sudan. Int J Clin Pharm 39, 1047–1054 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-017-0521-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-017-0521-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation