(1017) Pharmacy Students’ Views on Emergency Preparedness Post Covid - 19

Objectives: Evaluate pharmacy students’ awareness of the role of pharmacists in emergency preparedness post Covid - 19 and determine their willingness to become trained volunteers in emergency situations.

Methods: A cohort study utilizing a survey in likert scale format was distributed through Groupme between September 21, 2023, and October 3, 2023. Groupme is a mobile application designed for mass communication with other users who identify within similar communities as well as direct messages. Participants were 18 and older and current pharmacy students. Professors, faculty members, undergraduate students, and graduate students not pursuing pharmacy were not eligible to complete the survey. The primary endpoint was to gauge pharmacy students’ awareness of the importance of having trained pharmacists in emergency preparedness today, in comparison to before COVID-19. The secondary endpoints include determining pharmacy students’ interest in being trained in emergency preparedness prior to COVId-19 and their interest in being trained in emergency preparedness post COVID-19.

Results: The study included 56 participants across five different colleges of pharmacy. Prior to COVID-19, 12(21.4%) participants strongly agreed that they were well informed about the importance of having trained pharmacy professionals within the specialty of emergency preparedness, while 15(26.8%) participants strongly disagreed. Post COVID-19, 39(69.6%) participants strongly agreed that now they understand how important it is to have trained pharmacy professionals within the specialty of emergency preparedness, while 4(7.1%) strongly disagreed. Prior to COVID-19, 13(23.25) participants strongly agreed it was always important for them to be involved in emergency preparedness, while 8(14.3%) strongly disagreed. Over the course of the Covid – 19, 32(57.1%) participants strongly agreed that they realized how important it is for them to be trained in emergency preparedness so they can volunteer during a national crisis, while 3(5.4%) strongly disagreed.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed several barriers to healthcare America had to overcome. Pharmacists in communities around the country were able to relieve the public burden on the healthcare system by providing services taught through emergency preparedness training. Pharmacy students in the study were more likely to recognize the value of pharmacists in emergency situations and be more interested in being trained in emergency preparedness post COVID-19. Now is the time to train pharmacy students in emergency preparedness to ensure that communities around the country have skilled and competent volunteers to provide public health services when necessary.