Pharmacy education and practice in Syria: Past, present, and future

Syria, a country with a strong rooted pharmacy history is still following a traditional pharmacy curriculum in its public and private institutions. The rising number of pharmacy graduates is putting pressure on an already weakened pharmacy job market with the majority of graduates still pursuing careers in retail pharmacy. This report sheds light on the development of pharmacy education and practice in this country. It provides a review of the curriculum content, the level of experiential training, and the current available practice venues. Existing graduate diploma available in public universities can be restructured to provide a Pharm D program. Existing residencies need to be revisited to include more clinical competencies that cover different pharmacy specialties. Pharmacists need to prove they are competent for the local authorities and other health care professionals to recognize the need for their clinical services and create new career venues and role recognitions. A clear legal framework to redefine the role of pharmacists as health care providers and their scope of practice need to be advocated by pharmacists associations and adopted by the Syrian authorities.