Assessment of Moral Development among Pharmacy Students and Alumni: Implications for Pharmacy Education

Abstract

Objective. This study's principal aim was to assess the moral development of undergraduate pharmacy students and alumni at a university in Jordan.

Methods. Using the Professional Ethics in Pharmacy (PEP) test, 512 pharmacy students' and alumni's moral reasoning was assessed in a cross-sectional design.

Results. The response rate was 49%. The P-score median was 16.7, with no statistical difference observed across all five cohorts. No statistically significant differences in medians P-score between males and females were found (16.7 versus 20, respectively). Also, no statistically significant differences in medians P-scores were observed between students who have completed the ethics course against those who have not completed the ethics course at the time of data collection (median P-score 20 versus 16.7 respectively). No trends in median P-scores were observed, and there were no statistically significant differences in P-scores among the five cohorts.

Conclusion. Professional moral reasoning of prospective pharmacists in this study was lower than expected. A further longitudinal study of the cohort, which attempts to correlate moral development with age, sex, education level, and moral education strategy, is warranted.