Drug Information Roots: The Influence of Education and Training on the Philosophy and Activities of Hospital-and Pharmacy School-Based Drug Information Services

Abstract

The objective of this project was to assess influences of past and present educational and training experiences on the development of drug information services. A questionnaire was used to collect information concerning the respondent's location, educational background, and relationship to others in the field. Next, demographic characteristics of the service were collected. The final section had respondent's rank 26 activities for both current scope of activities and the individual's philosophy of practice. Respondent's were asked to prioritize each activity according to contribution, directly or indirectly, to patient care. This study did not identify a major potential source of educational or training influence. However, despite the apparent lack of a major educational or training influence on the profession there is evidence to suggest that such influences can affect the scope of activities within services or the philosophy of practice of individuals. The differences in rankings commonly observed for the scope of activities support the observation of lack of equivalence in earlier studies.