Objective: To compare second- and third-year pharmacy students' competence, attitudes, and self-confidence in providing diabetes care before and after completing a hand-on diabetes training program and to determine if the program had an impact on students' attitude and self-confidence based on their year in the curriculum.
Design: The program included classroom lectures and hands-on learning sessions in 5 facets of diabetes care. Pre- and post-test instruments measured students' competence, attitudes, and confidence in diabetes care.
Assessment: Students' competence and the mean overall confidence score significantly improved after completing the program, while mean overall attitude score did not. Third-year students had significantly higher confidence scores than did second-year students on both pre- and post-program tests. No significant difference was found for attitude scores between second- and third-year students.
Conclusion: The hands-on learning program was an effective approach to training pharmacy students in diabetes care, improving both their competence and confidence.
Keywords: attitude; competence; confidence; diabetes; training program.