Understanding the Perceptions and Attitudes of Pharmacy Students on Administering Adult Vaccines

Abstract

Background: Community pharmacy practice is changing to include pharmacist-administered immunization. As this change occurs, there is a need to understand pharmacy students' attitudes and interests regarding this new role. Objective: To examine the attitudes and interests of pharmacy students in administering immunizations and to use the information obtained to design and implement an immunization training program within an existing course in the PharmD curriculum at a college of pharmacy. Methods: A survey questionnaire was distributed to the first- and second-year PharmD students during the fall semester of the 2003–2004 academic year. Descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were used to report the data. Results: Two hundred nine surveys were distributed to first- and second-year students, and 172 were completed, yielding a response rate of 82%. Survey results showed that 76.7% of the students were aware that pharmacists can legally administer adult immunizations in Ohio, 94.2% think pharmacist-administered adult immunization is an important healthcare service, and 93.6% indicated they would be willing to administer adult immunizations after graduating. Conclusions: With the incorporation of an immunization training program into the curriculum, students can be well prepared and confident in administering adult immunizations. The immunization training program can also provide students with an opportunity to become involved in immunization as advocates or facilitators.