Student-led educational outreach visits as a strategy to advance pharmacy education: A qualitative analysis of students' perspectives of a Brazilian study

Background: Pharmacy education in Brazil has recently transformed to better prepare students for public health services, requiring mandatory experiential learning. Essential medicines lists (EML) are vital for improving access to medications, though their distribution is limited. As part of a community outreach initiative, pharmacy students carried out Educational Outreach Visits (EOV) to healthcare professionals and engaged with users of primary healthcare units to promote the EML. This paper discusses the students' perceptions of leading these EOV in a municipality in southeastern Brazil. Methods: Eight students involved in EOV participated in a focus group discussion. The session was recorded and transcribed, followed by content analysis. Three thematic categories were established: 1) importance for the training of the future pharmacist, 2) relevance of the initiative, and 3) challenges of the experience. Results: The students expressed that their involvement in EOV allowed them to gain insights into the reality of the healthcare system and contributed to improving their understanding of pharmaceutical services. Additionally, the initiative was viewed as a method to advance access to medicines in the public health system. Regarding the challenges, the students were apprehensive about not answering some questions and interacting with physicians. Conclusion: In the view of undergraduate pharmacy students, EOV is relevant to training pharmacists to work in Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) and improving access to medicines in the public system. The lack of confidence to deliver EOV, particularly in communicating with physicians, should be considered when preparing students to participate in similar initiatives.