Personal Pharmacogenetic Testing Enhances Pharmacy Student Knowledge and Attitude Towards Precision Medicine

Objective: To evaluate if pharmacy students participation in personal pharmacogenetic testing enhances their knowledge and attitude towards precision medicine (PM). Methods: First-year pharmacy students were offered personalized pharmacogenetic testing as a supplement to a required curricular pharmacogenomics course. Ninety-eight of 122 (80%) students completed pre- and post-course surveys assessing knowledge and attitudes regarding PM; 73 students also volunteered for personal pharmacogenetic testing of the following drug metabolizing enzymes (CYP2C19, CYP2D6, UGT1A1) and pharmacodynamics-relevant proteins (interleukin (IL)-28B u0026 human lymphocyte antigen HLAB*5701). Results: An online Likert-based survey was distributed to 1st-year PharmD students. Using a linear mixed effects model, we observed significant improvements in 100% of knowledge and 70% of attitude-related questions for students who decided to undergo pharmacogenetic testing. Conclusion: Personal pharmacogenetic testing significantly enhances knowledge of and attitude toward pharmacogenomics among PharmD trainees. This study demonstrates the feasibility and importance of educating future pharmacists by incorporating pharmacogenetic testing into professional school curricula.