Student Pharmacists Report Confidence in Administering Immunizations

Student pharmacists were confident overall in administering immunizations, but efforts to improve training should still be considered, according to researchers.

“Pharmacists are considered the most accessible health care professionals, especially when it comes to preventative services such as immunizations,” authors said. “Studies have assessed student knowledge and comfort in administering vaccinations immediately after receiving formal training or completing a vaccination clinic experience; however, few have examined students after applying the knowledge to a pharmacy work experience.”

Researchers sent a nonvalidated email survey to student pharmacists enrolled in a Doctor of Pharmacy program in New York. Students’ immunization training had been completed nearly 1 year before the survey was conducted.

Out of 365 students who received the survey, 189 students (51.8%) responded. Results indicated 173 students (91.5%) agreed or strongly agreed they felt confident giving intramuscular injections. However, 110 students (58.2%) reported confidence in administering subcutaneous injections.

Responses also indicated 111 students (58.7%) had not administered any shots since completing immunization training.

“Based on this cohort, perceptions are positive overall; however, there is room for continued improvement in training pharmacy students for immunization proficiency as well as increasing the cooperation of pharmacies to allow students to immunize,” researchers concluded.

Reference:
Danilov M, Voyer K, Catanzaro LM, Maerten-Rivera J, Fiebelkorn KD. An examination of student pharmacists’ perceptions toward immunization. J Pharm Pract. Published online April 29, 2022. doi:10.1177/08971900221096993