Current challenges in pharmacy education in Bangladesh: A roadmap for the future

Global pharmacy education has dramatically shifted away from its original product-oriented focus toward a patient-oriented clinical curriculum. Accordingly, many developing countries have introduced the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program without securing adequate infrastructure and resources that align with health care policy. Several challenges in the current pharmacy education in Bangladesh have been identified. Over 90% of the entry-level Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) curriculum emphasizes on product-oriented knowledge whereas only ~5% of the total course credits are allocated toward clinical pharmacy. This curricular framework indicates a minimum emphasis on patient care education. Furthermore, two universities of Bangladesh (University of Dhaka and North South University) are currently considering offering the PharmD program. This attempt appears to be highly ambitious, given the lack of infrastructure, clinical educators, curricular alignment with clinical education and practice, and an appropriate health care policy. Moreover, as of now, there are no patient care roles of BPharm graduates in clinical or community practice settings in the country. Thus, a number of issues need to be addressed prior to considering PharmD programs in Bangladesh. This article assesses the current status of pharmacy education in Bangladesh, identifies the challenges toward implementation, and proposes a transitional model for the development of a PharmD program.