Pharmacy education during and beyond COVID-19 in six Asia-Pacific countries: Changes, challenges, and experiences

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted pharmacy education to remote teaching and learning (T&L) strategies. To share changes, challenges, and experiences in pharmacy education among member countries, the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations hosted a 1.5-hour webinar on 15th May 2020. Questions collected during registration and the live webinar were coded using thematic analysis. A total of 794 participants from 18 countries/territories registered, while 346 attended the webinar. Of 445 questions, 392 were from the registration form and 53 from the webinar. All questions were coded to four major themes: new normal pharmacy education, ethics and safety, material accessibility, and teaching and evaluation methods. Questions during registration were mostly on new normal adaptation (n=79), T&L formats (n=65), and access/resources/ sustainability (n=59). Webinar questions were mainly on assessment format (n=13), laboratory skills (n=9), and access/resources/sustainability (n=9). The webinar provided an opportunity to quickly identify issues regarding pharmacy education during the COVID-19 pandemic for prompt actions and further research.