The Effect of an Innovative Psychiatry Clerkship on Pharmacy Students Perceptions towards Mental Health and Stigma: A Pilot Intervention Study from Jordan.

Mugdadi, Ali; Raqeeq, Maysam Abu; Wazaify, Mayyada; Bulatova, Nailya

It is believed that psychiatry clerkship can improve communication of pharmacists with psychiatric patients. This pilot study aimed to assess and describe the effect of psychiatry clerkship on student's attitudes and perceptions towards psychiatry, psychiatric patients and the surrounding stigma. A prospective survey was conducted at The University of Jordan to assess: 1. PharmD students' feedback regarding: (a) the 2-week psychiatry clerkship; (b) psychopharmacology games and 2. Students' perceptions, attitudes and stigma regarding mental health. The questionnaire was adopted from three commonly used tools: Balon Attitudes towards Psychiatry, Mental Illness Clinicians Attitudes Scale (MICA) and Attitudes toward Psychiatry-30 (ATP-30). All students in the rotation filled the questionnaire (n=29). Students were highly satisfied with the clerkship and psychopharmacology games. Students had shown positive attitude towards psychiatry at the baseline, which further improved at the end of the course. Mental health stigma showed a mixture of positive and negative attitudes, which did not significantly change after the clerkship. Psychiatry clerkship in the PharmD curriculum can help in improving the general perception and attitudes of future pharmacists towards mental health.

JORDAN; PHARMACY students; MENTAL health; SOCIAL stigma; PSYCHIATRY; STUDENT attitudes; PHARMACY

Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2019, Vol 12, Issue 2, p109

1995-7157

Academic Journal