Training needs assessment, evaluation of education and training courses of apothecary shops of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province.

Objectives: A considerable part of our society uses medicinal herbs to cure diseases, these sought after herbs are distributed by apothecaries. In addition, many of people who work in this profession are not especially trained and do not have academic education related to medicinal herbs, a significant number of them are not even trained in the traditional way, which is learning the skills and experiences with the studentmentor method in apothecary shops; they only turned to this profession due to lack of suitable employment, strong demand for medicinal herbs and considerable profitability. Several studies show that education level of apothecarists in this field is very low in most parts of Iran This study aims to assess training needs, determine the level of education and participation of existing apothecarists in training courses in Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari province in 1394. Materials and Methods: This is an analytical and descriptive study. 48 participants were selected, the data was gathered using a questionnaire. After interviewing, making acquaintance and building responder trust, data was collected. Subsequently, data was analyzed using SPSS software and analytical tests. Results Average age of participants was 45.3 years, 93.4% were male, and 87.5% were married. The average work experience was 17.6 years. Education level of 12.5% was elementary, 33.3% had high school diplomas, 16.7% held associate degrees, 29.2% had bachelor's degrees, and 8.3% held master's degrees; 37.5% had related education, and 62.5% had no related education. 50% learned their skills through their mentors. 45.8% had participated in no training courses, while 54.2% had training course participation. 29.2% of participants had university training, and 70.8% had taken private sector training courses. Educational needs of participants were, in order, medicinal herb dosage, followed by their side effects and complications when combined with chemical drugs. 73.8% of participants were willing to participate in training courses held by universities. Conclusion: Distributing and selling medicinal herbs by those without professional skills is considered unauthorized intervention and can cause numerous problems for patients. This treatment fault in Iranian traditional medicine is very common and needs proper intervention. It is recommended that qualified people from Ministry of Health and accredited organizations organize the apothecaries and hold modern training courses for them to improve their basic professional knowledge. By doing this we can prevent the work of quacks and unauthorized individuals in this profession.