Development and Implementation of Undergraduate Seminar Course in the Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Globally, pharmacy education is evolving and there is an increasing need to equip pharmacy undergraduate students with soft skills, especially presentation and communication skills. This study developed and implemented a seminar course designed to enhance verbal and nonverbal presentation skills among undergraduate pharmacy students at the Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The course was structured into two phases, Seminar I and Seminar II, targeting various aspects of presentation and communication skills essential for professional success in pharmacy. Key evaluation rubrics included preparedness, articulation, volume, speech rate, content accuracy, originality, and relevance to the pharmacy profession. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Fisher Exact Test. Probability values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 114 students participated in the study. The pharmacy undergraduate seminar course was successfully designed and implemented at King Abdulaziz University. Male students exhibited stronger presentation styles, showing higher preparedness, composure, and audience engagement in Seminar I, while female students excelled in slide formatting, spelling, and content relevance in Seminar II. Additionally, the Seminar II phase brought significant improvements across the cohort, particularly in the use of visual aids and originality of work, with a more balanced performance between genders in most assessment criteria. Conclusion: A seminar course for pharmacy students was successfully developed and implemented at King Abdulaziz University. This new course model could serve as a framework for integrating presentation and communication skills training into pharmacy curricula across similar academic settings.