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Psychological Morbidities among Trainee Pharmacists in Major Government Hospitals in Sarawak

    DOI: 10.52494/BHKZ7878
    by Grace Hie King Chieng and Lee Chee Pan.
    Vol. 9 No. 1 (2023): Malaysian Journal of Pharmacy / Published: June 30, 2023
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    Abstract

    Introduction: Trainee pharmacists in Malaysia are required to undergo a one-year training program during which they have to fulfill the requirements of their training logbooks. The logbook outlines the jobs and tasks that should be performed by the trainee pharmacists during their attachment at various pharmacy units. Upon the completion of their internship, they should acquire adequate professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to prepare themselves to deal with life-long professional challenges independently. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among trainee pharmacists in major government hospitals in Sarawak, to compare the level of psychological morbidities among trainee pharmacists among training centers, and to explore the factors associated with the psychological morbidities during pharmacy training. Method: This was a cross-sectional study involving 55 trainee pharmacists in major government hospitals in Sarawak over a period of two months, from 24th December 2019 to 28th February 2020, using a validated questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS 21). Additional questions regarding socio-demographic variables were also included in the survey. Results: The prevalence of psychological morbidities for trainee pharmacists was found to be 14.5% for depression, 38.2% for anxiety, and 7.2% for stress, respectively. Local program graduates had 5.41 times higher odds of developing depression as compared to foreign or twinning program graduates. Furthermore, non-Sarawakian trainee pharmacists had 7.9 times higher odds for developing anxiety as compared to trainee pharmacists who originated from Sarawak. Conclusion: Anxiety was found to be the most common psychological symptom experienced by trainee pharmacists in Sarawak training centers. The origin of trainees and place of graduation were significantly associated with anxiety and depression,n respectively. Attention should be focused on the early recognition of psychological morbidities among healthcare professionals.

    Exploring Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and the Intention to Stay or Leave the Public Workforce Among Fully Registered Pharmacists (FRP) in Miri Hospital

      DOI: 10.52494/WHWJ5181
      by Mee Yien Kiing and Ling Weng Wong.
      Vol. 9 No. 1 (2023): Malaysian Journal of Pharmacy / Published: June 30, 2023
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      Abstract

      Background: Pharmacy services have expanded tremendously over the past few decades to provide comprehensive patient-centered pharmaceutical care. This expansion inevitably places a growing demand on the pharmacy workforce. Positive correlations have been established between job satisfaction and key factors such as motivation, job performance, productivity, organizational commitment and most importantly patient safety and satisfaction. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all fully registered pharmacists (FRPs) in Miri Hospital using a questionnaire that has been previously validated (n = 47). This questionnaire consists of four parts with aims to capture the demographic profile of the respondents, factors affecting job satisfaction, assessment of job satisfaction and organizational commitment and assessment of decision to stay or leave their current employer, the Ministry of Health (MOH). Participants were also invited to express their opinion on how to improve the pharmacy service in the public workforce through open- ended question. Results: A total of 42 pharmacists (response rate 85.7%) in Miri Hospital participated in this survey. Most of the respondents in this study were female (81%) and of Chinese ethnicity (78.6%), with a median age of 31 years old. The proportion of single and married respondents were similar (54.8% and 45.2% respectively). The length of employment of the respondents in MOH ranged from 3 to 13 years, with a median of 7 years. The mean job satisfaction and organizational commitment scores were 60.81 (standard deviation (SD) 8.70) and 56.48 (SD 7.21) respectively out of a maximum possible score of 90.0. 95.2% of the respondents indicated strong inclination to remain in their current job. Conclusion: Gaining insight into the factors which influence job satisfaction and organizational commitment holds significance in reducing the turnover rate of pharmacists and enhancing their productivity levels. Our study showed moderate job satisfaction and organizational commitment among pharmacists in Miri Hospital. Job satisfaction does not seem to differ for all respondents; nevertheless, female respondents were found to be more committed the organization.

      An Evaluation of Interventions by Clinical Pharmacists in a Tertiary Hospital

        DOI: 10.52494/ICUZ1511
        by Sarah Anne Robert, Suet Yin Chin, Lay Yen Gan, Chee Lan Lau, Kiew Bing Pau, Shue Hong Kong, Farah Waheeda Tajurudin, Mei Kuen Yin, Sheah Lin Ghan, Nur Jannah Azman, Xin Yun Chua, Poy Kei Lye, Stephanie Wai Yee Tan, Muhd Nordin Saud and Dexter Van Dort.
        Vol. 7 No. 2 (2021): Malaysian Journal of Pharmacy / Published: December 31, 2021
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        Abstract

        Introduction:  Problems with medication therapy are a major concern in health care because of the associated increase in morbidity, mortality and increased cost of treatment. Clinical pharmacy services are well established in developed countries such as the United States and has been reported to reduce adverse drug events, medication errors, patient’s length of stay, mortality rates and costs. Clinical pharmacists proactively ensure rational medication use, avoiding medication errors at point of prescribing. They participate in ward rounds, communicate with the team in the wards, interview patients, perform medication reconciliation, provide counselling, therapeutic drug monitoring, antibiotic stewardship, discharge screening and follow ups. Any discrepancy or problems detected will be conveyed to the relevant team member for correction.  Objective: To describe and evaluate the interventions performed by clinical pharmacists in a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia. Method: A clinical pharmacy observational retrospective study was conducted between January and December 2019. Fourteen clinical pharmacists were assigned to respective wards in the medical, surgery and intensive care units to provide pharmaceutical care. All interventions performed in the wards were documented systematically. Result: A total of 3345 interventions were recorded. The most frequent interventions were on rational drug therapy (n = 1456, 43.5%), followed by corrections made on prescription (n = 1349, 40.3%) and changes in dosage and frequency (n = 540, 16.2%).  The majority of suggestions (n = 3264, 97.6%) have been accepted. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting clinical pharmacist interventions in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. The involvement of clinical pharmacist in the wards contributed to the optimisation of pharmacotherapy, safety and better patients’ outcomes. There was good inter-professional collaboration at the ward level.