Satisfaction of Polish pharmacists with completed training in the field of qualification and vaccination against COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction The coronavirus pandemic in Poland required quick responses. After the invention of the Covid-19 vaccine, the main strategic goal became to vaccinate as many Poles as possible in the shortest time. This required the involvement of all medical services, including pharmacists. Qualifications to perform full vaccination services were acquired during courses organized by the Center for Postgraduate Medical Education. Almost 9,000 pharmacists have acquired qualifications for vaccinations, not all of them have decided to provide them in pharmacies. The aim of the study was a preliminary analysis of pharmacists' satisfaction from completed qualification courses to perform the protective vaccination service against Covid-19. Material and methods The study in the form of an online questionnaire was conducted among 403 professionally active pharmacists who completed a qualification course to provide the Covid-19 vaccination service. The questions concerned, among others, the assessment of the content delivery and skills during the course, as well as the usefulness of the content in practice. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis. Results The vast majority of the surveyed pharmacists, regardless of their work experience, were satisfied with the completed qualification courses. Pharmacists with more than 10 years of work experience rated the theoretical part of the course better than their younger colleagues. For the practical part, there were no differences between the groups. The majority of pharmacists assessed the method of transferring practical skills as good or very good and indicated the usefulness of the acquired content and skills in practice. Conclusions The courses organized by the Center for Postgraduate Medical Education turned out to be satisfactory in the opinion of Polish pharmacists. It seems important to look for factors affecting the lack of provision of the Covid-19 vaccination service by some qualified pharmacists