TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing and validating the specialized competency framework for pharmacists in sales and marketing (SCF-PSM)
T2 - a cross-sectional analysis in Lebanon
AU - Joya, Namnoum
AU - Aline, Hajj
AU - Katia, Iskandar
AU - Hala, Sacre
AU - Marwan, Akel
AU - Rony, Zeenny M.
AU - Chadia, Haddad
AU - Pascale, Salameh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Objectives: Competencies refer to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors individuals develop through education, training, and experience. These competencies can be formulated into a framework to support practitioner development for effective and sustained performance. In the absence of a national framework for pharmacy education and practice in Lebanon, the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon (OPL, the official association of pharmacists in Lebanon) pioneered the development of a pharmacy competency framework in 2017. This study aimed to validate and assess the specialized competency framework for pharmacists in sales and marketing (SCF-PSM) after updating the framework previously published by the OPL. The secondary objective was to assess, in a pilot survey, the personal characteristics associated with these competencies. Methods: After validating the content of the specialized competency framework, a survey involving Lebanese pharmacists was performed through a 15-min online questionnaire distributed over social media platforms, groups of pharmacists, and individual pharmacists’ contact numbers. Key findings: Pharmaceutical knowledge, communication, emergency response, and operation management during emergencies were satisfactory (more than 80/100). Other activities during emergencies, such as patient care and population health interventions and evaluation, research, and dissemination of research outcomes, received a moderate score (75–78/100), similar to legal practice (78/100), teamwork (76/100), and management skills (75/100). The lowest reported confidence was related to professional communication skills (other than communication per se), mainly negotiation, data processing skills, information technology, self-management, and ethical practice (< 75/100). This study reported deficiencies between what is acquired during undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education on the one hand and the competency framework suggested by the OPL on the other hand, showing a mismatch between the competencies of working pharmacists acquired during education and the market needs. Conclusions: This study validated a competency framework for pharmacists in sales and marketing and explored the current gaps in self-reported competencies. It also identified areas necessitating reinforcement to optimize professional practice and underscored the need for improvement in undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional education.
AB - Objectives: Competencies refer to the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors individuals develop through education, training, and experience. These competencies can be formulated into a framework to support practitioner development for effective and sustained performance. In the absence of a national framework for pharmacy education and practice in Lebanon, the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon (OPL, the official association of pharmacists in Lebanon) pioneered the development of a pharmacy competency framework in 2017. This study aimed to validate and assess the specialized competency framework for pharmacists in sales and marketing (SCF-PSM) after updating the framework previously published by the OPL. The secondary objective was to assess, in a pilot survey, the personal characteristics associated with these competencies. Methods: After validating the content of the specialized competency framework, a survey involving Lebanese pharmacists was performed through a 15-min online questionnaire distributed over social media platforms, groups of pharmacists, and individual pharmacists’ contact numbers. Key findings: Pharmaceutical knowledge, communication, emergency response, and operation management during emergencies were satisfactory (more than 80/100). Other activities during emergencies, such as patient care and population health interventions and evaluation, research, and dissemination of research outcomes, received a moderate score (75–78/100), similar to legal practice (78/100), teamwork (76/100), and management skills (75/100). The lowest reported confidence was related to professional communication skills (other than communication per se), mainly negotiation, data processing skills, information technology, self-management, and ethical practice (< 75/100). This study reported deficiencies between what is acquired during undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education on the one hand and the competency framework suggested by the OPL on the other hand, showing a mismatch between the competencies of working pharmacists acquired during education and the market needs. Conclusions: This study validated a competency framework for pharmacists in sales and marketing and explored the current gaps in self-reported competencies. It also identified areas necessitating reinforcement to optimize professional practice and underscored the need for improvement in undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional education.
KW - Competency framework
KW - Lebanon
KW - Marketing and Sales Pharmacists
KW - Validation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85175048202&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s40545-023-00638-w
DO - 10.1186/s40545-023-00638-w
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85175048202
SN - 2052-3211
VL - 16
JO - Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
JF - Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
IS - 1
M1 - 128
ER -