EXPANDING THE CLINICAL COMPONENT OF PHARMACY EDUCATION IN SAUDI ARABIA

The clinical pharmacy component of Riyad College of Pharmacy curriculum was expanded from its present 4-credit h clinical pharmacy course to 18-credit h of clinical instructions in the pharmacy-core programme. In the final year of a 5-year programme, students may select clinical pharmacy as a professional option, thus receiving an additional 10-credit h of clinical instructions. The decision to expand the clinical component of the pharmacy curriculum was prompted by the need for patient-oriented pharmacy practitioners. The performance of graduates who had been rather briefly exposed to clinical pharmacy education led to this expansion.