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Table 2 SWOC analysis of the workforce education and job market

From: Pharmacy education and workforce: strategic recommendations based on expert consensus in Lebanon

Internal factors

Strengths

Weaknesses

Education

 • Pharmacy is a profession that attracts good students with a low attrition rate

 • Admission criteria take grades into account; select the best through the entrance examination

 • Time to graduation is acceptable for more than 90% of students

 • All pharmacy programs are accredited by international authorities, which is a quality label

 • International accreditation of programs is an opportunity for continuous improvement of pharmacy programs

 • There is no deficiency in community pharmacy distribution, as urban and rural regions are well served

 • Continuing education is mandatory by the OPL according to the law

 • Interprofessional education has been implemented in some universities

 • Several universities have established residency and PhD programs in collaboration with international partners

 • Universities graduate students of good quality, accepted in many international positions

 • Interprofessional education is being applied in some universities, paving the way to interprofessional collaborative practice

Workforce

 • A decree has been issued to limit the position of medical representatives to pharmacists to increase employment opportunities for pharmacists; however, it is not yet applied

 • The clinical pharmacy law has been suggested but has been awaiting approval for more than 20 years

 • Universities have highly qualified academics who can upgrade curricula based on new competencies frameworks

Education

 • There is no legal framework for pharmacy education

 • There is no national pharmacy workforce strategy

  • Collaboration between universities is minimal

 • There is no clear guidance for undergraduate and postgraduate training

 • There is an oversupply of non-specialized pharmacists

 • Curricula need to be updated according to the latest international recommendations

 • New sections related to public health and soft skills should be added to curricula in some universities

 • There is no official up-to-date core competency framework

 • There is no official specialized competency framework

 • Specialized competencies are not assessed

 • There is no adequate competency-based licensure examination

 • There is no national accreditation agency, thus no homogeneous conditions for graduation from different universities

 • There is no national research strategy

Workforce

 •There is an oversupply of non-specialized pharmacists

 • There are no exact figures about the employability of graduates

 • The number of pharmacists who graduated from outside Lebanon is relatively high

 • Pharmacy specialties are not formally recognized

 • There is no early career training program

 • There are no regulations for a pharmacy support workforce (pharmacy technicians)

 • Market needs for specialties are not assessed

 • Some pharmacists are resistant to changes related to continuing education and other new concepts (digitalization, accreditation, and others)

 • There is no framework for interprofessional collaborations, which causes overlapping education, practice, and competing interests

External factors

Opportunities

Challenges/threats

 • Policy suggestions related to pharmacy education and the workforce are waiting to be approved

• The MOPH is working on a comprehensive national strategy for health

• The OPL is leading on a national pharmaceutical strategy in collaboration with other stakeholders (ministries, WHO, pharmaceutical sector, and other healthcare professionals)

• Ongoing strategies that are being prepared should be complemented by a pharmacy workforce strategy

• The pharmacy sector benefits from collaborations with international agencies (FIP, WHO, CIOPF, etc.), which would optimize the exchange of ideas and capacity building

• International non-governmental organizations are offering positions for pharmacists, in particular, to organize medication and pharmaceutical services delivery for underprivileged populations

Education

 • Severe socioeconomic and ongoing sanitary crises are affecting education conditions

 • Experiential education during severe economic and sanitary crises is not immersive, as it is done virtually

 • Online education is given in difficult circumstances (shortage of power and internet supply), which might jeopardize its quality

  • Highly motivated young pharmacy graduates have international aspirations, which might increase emigration

Workforce

 • Severe socioeconomic and ongoing sanitary crises contribute to the deterioration of financial conditions

 • The professional situation of all pharmacists is currently disastrous (extreme financial difficulties)

 • Many pharmaceutical companies are closing their local offices

 • Many working pharmacists are leaving the country for better opportunities

 • Medication shortage is very severe, putting at risk the health of professionals and patients

 • Interprofessional education and collaborative practice are cultural challenges; healthcare professionals are reluctant to collaborate

 • The presence of refugees in very high numbers is pressuring the scarce resources of healthcare and educational systems

  1. MOPH Ministry of Public Health, OPL Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon, WHO World Health Organization, FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation, CIOPF Conférence Internationale des Ordres de Pharmaciens Francophones