VALENTINE U. ODILI

The Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), recently introduced by the
National Universities Commission (NUC), represents a major shift in the structure and delivery of undergraduate programmes in Nigeria. The curriculum emphasizes competency based training, greater practical exposure, and enhanced skills development. These changes may influence students’ academic experiences and psychological wellbeing. This study assessed the perceived
stress levels and major stressors among second-year pharmacy students undergoing training under the CCMAS framework at the University of Benin.

INTRODUCTION: Community pharmacies play a crucial role in providing healthcare services to the general population including students but there is limited research on how this particular demographic perceives and engages community pharmacies. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate university students’ perception towards community pharmacies and their health services in Ekosodin community, Benin City, Edo state. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 university students living in the Ekosodin community. A self-administered questionnaire was the primary tool for data collection and consisted of 3 sections: respondent’s demographics, reasons for/frequency of pharmacy visits and assessment of satisfaction levels and action able feedback. Collected data were analyzed through both descriptive and inferential statistics using statistical software such as the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). RESULTS: Out of 400 respondents, 344 (86%) identified medicine purchases as the main reason for visiting the community pharmacy. The role of the pharmacist was seen as satisfactory with a mean score of 4.10 (maximum of 5) while commonly expected health screening services were blood pressure measurements and malaria parasite tests (253, 63%). The majority (273, 68.3%) were willing to discuss medicines prescribed for them with the pharmacist with a lack of privacy often cited as the main barrier to communication (239, 59.8%). CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the majority of university students were satisfied with the provided health services and perceive community pharmacists as drug experts whom they can willingly discuss medication issues with. However, the lack of privacy in the pharmacy hindered effective communication.