Evaluation of Needs Assessment in Continuing Medical Education Programs for Community Pharmacists in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Background: Acquiring the participants’ viewpoints of continuing medical education (CME) programs about the implementation of these programs is of special importance. Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the educational needs in CME programs by evaluating the pharmacists’ points of view and motivation for more active participation in these programs. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), from October 2013 to April 2018, 142. Pharmacists were randomly assigned among participants. Self-administered questionnaires were designed, and their content validity and reliability were determined by CME experts and Cronbach’s alpha measurement, respectively. Results: According to the pharmacists, restoring their previous knowledge and acquiring new information (84.5%) were the main reasons for participating in CME programs. Fifty seven percent of pharmacists insisted on the applied aspects of CME programs and stated clinical pharmacology and therapeutics as the most interesting topic (50%). Fifty-two percent of participants selected a combination of lecture and panel discussion as a perfect method for CME presentation. The programs’s levels in knowledge and skills or attitude promotion were evaluated high and very high by 41.9 and 44.5% of pharmacists, respectively. Conclusions: Most community pharmacists who participated in CME programs of IUMS had acceptable attendance with this study. It seemed that CME programs were reasonably by their expectations. The participants also had many interesting and valuable comments and expectations, based on which the planning of future programs may lead to enhance their motivation and improve their quality and satisfaction.