Formation of ethical competencies of future pharmacists: analysis of labor market requirements and educational programs

Modern pharmaceutical practice requires not only profound knowledge of professional disciplines but also a high level of ethical responsibility. An important indicator of the quality of work of a modern pharmaceutical professional is adherence to the principles of pharmaceutical ethics and deontology, which encompasses a high level of personal culture, professional awareness, and tact in relation to the consumer. Aim. To identify the ethical competence requirements set by stakeholders for students and study approaches to the formation of the necessary competencies of future pharmacists. Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study consisted of modern concepts of teaching the educational component (EC) “Ethics and Deontology in Pharmacy,” as well as the current regulatory and legal framework in the field of higher education and pharmaceutical practice. The information base of the research was the author’s own studies, scientific publications related to the issues of ethical training of pharmaceutical specialists, as well as educational and professional programs and methodological materials of higher education institutions (HEIs) of Ukraine training Masters in the specialty “Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy”. During the study such methods as the content analysis, system-analytical, logical analysis, and generalization, were used. Results and discussion. It has been found that 70% of the pharmacy chains analyzed included specific ethical competence requirements in their job postings for pharmaceutical specialists. Ethical competencies occupy a central role in pharmaceutical practice, which is confirmed by stakeholder expectations toward the future personnel. An analysis of the approaches to forming the necessary competencies in future pharmacists when teaching the EC “Ethics and Deontology in Pharmacy” in HEIs that train specialists of the second (Master’s) level in specialty I8 “Pharmacy (by specializations)” indicates that the educational and professional program correlates with the stakeholder requirements for staff recruitment. Conclusions. The research conducted indicates the importance of teaching this EC in the training of specialists in the field of I8 “Pharmacy (by specializations)”.