Exploring Nigerian pharmacists’ attitudes and perceptions to continuing education and professional development

Abstract

Background: Many professions undergo continuous training to keep abreast of happenings and current trends. Pharmacy is one of such profession; it achieves this by participating in Mandatory continuing professional development (MCPD). MCPDs come in various forms, including seminars, conference attendance, and reading research journals. Aim: This study sets out to assess and explore pharmacists’ attitudes towards continuing education in Nigeria and investigate the perceived barriers that hinder pharmacists from being involved in continuing education (CE) activities. Methods: A validated questionnaire composed of 19 items was shared online among pharmacists practicing in different settings in Nigeria. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the variables. Results: A total of 586 pharmacists participated in the study. A high percentage (77.80%) of those who completed the questionnaire strongly agreed that life-long learning is a professional responsibility of all pharmacists to increase their knowledge. A fair number of the participants (52.90%) adopted a positive attitude toward CE, while almost a similar percentage (47.10%) of participants displayed poor attitudes. The main barriers identified were the lack of time (49.10%), the cost of (MCPD) programmes (65.90%), and job constraints (64.80%). Conclusion: This study showed that the attitude of Nigerian Pharmacists toward CE is polarised between positive and negative, with several factors impeding their involvement in CE.