Establishing competency based internship program through participatory action research in a private pharmacy college in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Objectives: To use Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology to develop a competency-based training (CBT) program for Bachelor of Pharmacy interns at Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences (MACHS), Dammam, Saudi Arabia, based on the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Global Competency Framework. Methods: The MACHS Pharmacy Department Training Unit developed a competency-based training (CBT) framework over 6 cohorts of interns based on the FIP Global Competency Framework using the Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. Assignments were set throughout the training period to support competency development. Assessment methods used for the evaluation included student portfolio, site preceptor evaluation and the college-based assessments. End of training and baseline results were compared to determine the effectiveness of CBT in terms of improvement of skills. Problems were identified and action plans developed, to be implemented on the following cohort. Successful completion of CBT required a total score of 80%. The students who could not pass the assessment were given a chance to improve their weak competencies and retake the assessment. Results: Since its implementation, five cohorts have been trained through CBT. Only 12% of interns passed the training in first attempt in the first cohort. This passing percentage dramatically increased to 75-100% in the consecutive cohorts where students scored better in the portfolio, and site preceptor evaluation as compared to the college-based assessment. Students' feedback towards the assignments was positive. Conclusion: Participatory Action Research was found to be an effective approach towards developing a competency-based training program for Pharmacy interns. More FIP competencies and evaluation strategies will be added to the internship program in the future. Furthermore, a national approach towards implementation of CBT should be used to ensure the uniformity of competency of pharmacists across the kingdom.