Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume 12, No. 2, 2019 - 109 - © 2019 DAR Publishers/The University of Jordan. All Rights Reserved. * m.wazaify@UJ.edu.jo Received on 26/02/2018 and Accepted for Publication on 08/08/2018. The Effect of an Innovative Psychiatry Clerkship on Pharmacy Students Perceptions towards Mental Health and Stigma: A Pilot Intervention Study from Jordan Ali Mugdadi 1 , Maysam Abu Raqeeq 1 , Mayyada Wazaify 1 , Nailya Bulatova 1 * 1 Department of Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan ABSTRACT It is believed that psychiatry clerkship can improve communication of pharmacists with psychiatric patients. This pilot study aimed to assess and describe the effect of psychiatry clerkship on student’s attitudes and perceptions towards psychiatry, psychiatric patients and the surrounding stigma. A prospective survey was conducted at The University of Jordan to assess: 1. PharmD students’ feedback regarding: (a) the 2-week psychiatry clerkship; (b) psychopharmacology games and 2. Students' perceptions, attitudes and stigma regarding mental health. The questionnaire was adopted from three commonly used tools: Balon Attitudes towards Psychiatry, Mental Illness Clinicians Attitudes Scale (MICA) and Attitudes toward Psychiatry-30 (ATP-30). All students in the rotation filled the questionnaire (n=29). Students were highly satisfied with the clerkship and psychopharmacology games. Students had shown positive attitude towards psychiatry at the baseline, which further improved at the end of the course. Mental health stigma showed a mixture of positive and negative attitudes, which did not significantly change after the clerkship. Psychiatry clerkship in the PharmD curriculum can help in improving the general perception and attitudes of future pharmacists towards mental health. Keywords: Clerkship, Jordan, Mental Health, PharmD, Psychiatry, Stigma. 1. INTRODUCTION According to the WHO, it is estimated that 450 million people worldwide currently suffer from mental or neurological disorders, placing these disorders among the leading causes of ill health and disability in the world. 1 However, literature shows that there is shortage of mental health specialists (physicians, nurses and pharmacists), 2 which has been an issue of concern in developed 3 and, particularly, in developing countries. 4 Furthermore, people suffering from mental illnesses are among the most stigmatized and suffer from discrimination in many areas of daily life as a consequence of their illness. 5 The stigmatization of psychiatric patients by healthcare professionals in general and pharmacists in particular has negative effects similar to that propagated by other health care professionals 6 Stigma by pharmacists may result in miscommunications and failure to achieve positive clinical outcomes. 7 Most of the available literature concerning attitude of students towards the field of psychiatry is related to medical schools. 8-10 A recent comprehensive international survey of medical students found that overall, only 4.5 percent would be ‘definitely considering’ psychiatry as a career. 11 In Jordan, the attitude of medical students towards psychiatry is reported to be generally positive. This favored attitude was further improved after a four- week psychiatry clerkship. 10 Worldwide studies about PharmD students' attitudes