Exploring the needs, barriers, and motivation of Jordanian pharmacists towards continuing education

摘要

Purpose: To explore the needs, barriers, and motivations of Jordanian pharmacists towards continuing education (CE) as awareness of these factors may help in building a structured national guidance for pharmacist license renewals in Jordan. Methods: A 19-item questionnaire was used to investigate the following aspects of continuing education: barriers, motivating factors, preferences, past experiences, effectiveness, and future development. A Google form of the questionnaire was designed and delivered via social media and official communication groups for pharmacy practice institutions. Results: A total of 449 Jordanian pharmacists responded, out of which 77.3 % were female and 64.6 % between 20 - 30 years old. Community pharmacies represented 44.3 % of the practice sites. The majority of pharmacists (63.5%) showed great interest in pursuing CE and 80 % agreed that CE improved their knowledge and was reflected in their practice. The main barriers to CE activities were poor timing (51.9 %) and cost (51.2 %). Conclusion: Jordanian pharmacists show high interest in CE programs. However, time constraint, cost, and work responsibilities are barriers to pursuing CE.