Career preferences and attitude of first year Doctor of Pharmacy students toward pharmacy profession

Objectives: To evaluate first year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students career preferences, factors involved in this selection, and attitude toward pharmacy profession. Materials and Methods: First year PharmD students enrolled at University of Peshawar were surveyed through administration of predesigned questionnaire. The anonymous questionnaire sought students opinions on the factors influencing their career preferences, attitude and knowledge of pharmacy profession, and importance of pharmacy profession in healthcare system. Results: Overall response rate was 93.5%. Of the total 73 respondents, 38 (54.9%) were males and 35 (45.1%) were females. Only 12 (16.4%) students were aware of the scope of pharmacy before admission to the pharmacy program. A majority of the students (82%) believed that pharmacy education and practice affect the healthcare system. Very limited numbers of the students (16.4%) were interested in research, while the remaining students were either uninterested (69.8%) or unsure about their decision (13.6%). A significant number of students (61.6%) were unaware of different postgraduate prospects of pharmacy education. More than half of the students (58.9%) wished to undertake nonpharmacy career areas upon graduation. Drug regulation was opted as preferred career choice by 21 (28.7%) students, clinical pharmacy by 18 (24.6%), hospital pharmacy by 11 (15%), and teaching by 8 (10.5%). Factors involved in such selection were family influence (34.2%), anticipated income (24.6%), and personal interest (21.9%). Conclusions: First year PharmD students showed keen interest to choose drug regulation, clinical pharmacy, and hospital pharmacy as a career upon graduation. Family influence was the most important factor involved in this selection. Few of them were interested in pharmacy-related research activities while most of the students believed that pharmacy education and practice affect the healthcare system.