Building a Hospital Pharmacist Workforce by a Diversified and Position-Oriented Learning System

Wei He, Yangmin Hu, Difei Yao, Junjun Xu, Yunjian Dai, Haibin Dai Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Haibin Dai, Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, People’s Republic of China, Email haibindai@zju.edu.cnBackground: The role of hospital pharmacists has shifted from primarily ensuring drug supply to providing comprehensive pharmaceutical care. To accommodate this shift, new positions are needed. The traditional training model for hospital pharmacists is no longer sufficient for the evolving demands of pharmaceutical care and these new roles. This study aimed to describe the development of a position-oriented learning system explicitly tailored for hospital pharmacists and to assess its impact on workforce development and pharmacy service.Methods: The position-oriented learning system for hospital pharmacists, aimed at enhancing training and workforce development, was evaluated based on two critical criteria: the completion rate of learning modules and the subsequent improvement in pharmaceutical care at the hospital. The completion rate assessed the engagement and effectiveness of the training content. At the same time, the improvement in pharmaceutical care evaluated practical outcomes such as percentages of patients who received pharmaceutical care and percentages of inappropriate medication orders intercepted.Results: In 2021, 218 employees participated in the learning system. The pharmacy department has identified 22 pharmacists for various positions through this system. The quantity and quality of pharmaceutical care have improved significantly.Conclusion: The position-oriented diversified learning system achieves the perfect combination of department development direction and individual career planning of employees. The learning system can significantly improve the learning efficiency of pharmacists, enhance the quality of various pharmaceutical care, and promote the development of disciplines.Keywords: learning system, position-oriented, clinical pharmacist, informatics pharmacist