Mapping undergraduate pharmacy curricula in Saudi Arabia against a national competency framework: A case study of two...

Pharmacy education in Saudi Arabia has expanded rapidly, with most colleges transitioning to the PharmD as the entry-level degree. A proposed national competency framework for foundation-level pharmacists was recently developed to support curricular reform and improve graduate preparedness. However, the extent to which current PharmD programmes align with this framework appears to be variable.

Curriculum mapping was employed to evaluate two undergraduate PharmD programmes as a case study. Intended curricular content, including course descriptions and learning outcomes, was analysed against behavioural statements from the proposed national competency framework using qualitative content analysis. Competency coverage, subject domain weighting, and curricular emphasis were visualised through heat maps, radar charts, and descriptive statistics.

Both programmes incorporated most of the proposed competencies, with greater emphasis on technical areas such as medicines information, compounding, and communication skills, and less coverage of organisational management and public health competencies. One programme exhibited a physical science-focused orientation, while the other was more practice-oriented. Gaps were identified in leadership, continuing professional development, and patient consultation competencies. Although both programmes were PharmD degrees, the findings revealed differences in curricular structure and content, suggesting limited differentiation from traditional BPharm models.

This study presents a replicable method for assessing curriculum alignment with national competencies. The findings highlight the need for more balanced competency-based curricula to better prepare graduates for expanded professional roles aligned with national healthcare priorities.