Teaching approaches to delivering pharmacy law content to pre-registration pharmacy students: a global systematic...

It is important to ensure pharmacists are equipped with pharmacy law knowledge in order to practice within their legal framework. To help guide educators teach this topic, this global scoping review aimed to identify various teaching approaches currently utilised by pre-registration pharmacy programs.

Using a scoping review method, a comprehensive search was conducted in the databases Scopus, Medline, Embase and ERIC, using a defined search strategy. The search combined the three concepts "pharmacy", "law" and "teaching". The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist was adhered to.

Twenty-five papers were included out of 1146 screened papers. Teaching formats included case scenarios with legal issues in pharmacy practice (n = 6), mock hearing simulations (n = 3), answering questions testing pharmacy law knowledge and skills (n = 3), class discussions (n = 3), MyDispense simulations (n = 3), suggesting modifications to current laws (n = 2), watching videos (n = 2), roleplaying in a community pharmacy setting (n = 2), and creative approaches such as writing stories (n = 1), drawing (n = 1) and playing charades (n = 1). Commonly reported outcomes after implementation of these teaching approaches include improved knowledge, improved ability to apply content, increased engagement and involvement and improved content recall.

There is variability in the approaches used to teach pharmacy law in pharmacy programs. The utilisation of technology, active learning techniques and integrative learning approaches were commonly reported. More research is needed to explore approaches used to teach pharmacy law outside the US and UK and guide future educational practice.