Use and accessibility of health and medication information sources among pharmacy students during their community...

Evidence-based health and medication information (HMI) sources and databases have a growing importance in daily professional practice in community pharmacies. Previous research suggests that students learn practical skills at the workplace through self-directed learning and practical experience rather than formal training. Thus, pharmacy internship is a key in ensuring pharmacy students' competency to use HMI sources and databases. This study assessed what HMI sources pharmacy students had used and accessible during their first internship in community pharmacies in Finland.

The data were collected as part of the obligatory assignments of the second year pharmacy students at the University of Helsinki during their first three-month internship in a community pharmacy in 2013 (n = 152, response rate 100%).

The most commonly used HMI sources during the first internship period were electronic product-specific databases assisting in medication counselling, such as the checklist type generic prescription medication information database integrated into pharmacy prescription processing system, used daily by 74% of the students having access to the database (n = 121). Databases assisting in medication reviews were less commonly used although they were available in the majority of the pharmacies.

Although the majority of students had access to a wide range of HMI sources and databases during their internship, the actual use of sources other than product-specific medication information was limited, particularly the use of databases in assisting in medication reviews. It is important to facilitate their use in the second internship to acquire competences needed for their further use after graduation.