The worldwide opioid epidemic persists as a serious public health challenge, driven by extensive misuse and elevated death rates. It is vital for graduating pharmacy students to master opioid dispensing skills to help ensure these medications are used appropriately and safely. This study aimed to examine the level of opioid dispensing competencies among final-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm-D) students across Punjab, Pakistan. Multicenter cross-sectional survey. Researchers used a previously validated instrument to assess 11 essential competencies related to opioid handling and use. The tool was distributed to final-year Pharm-D students enrolled at accredited pharmacy institutions across the province. One point was awarded for each correct answer on the total score. Categorical data were summarized using descriptive statistics, and independent t-tests were performed to assess group differences. Overall, 661 final-year Pharm-D students from 28 institutes (8 public and 20 private) participated, for a response rate of 78.5%. Participants who had completed community- or hospital-based internships, as well as those attending universities in the provincial capital, achieved markedly higher competency scores. Mean scores did not differ significantly by gender or by the type of evaluation system employed in the Pharm-D curriculum. The three areas with the weakest performance out of the eleven competencies were “opioid overdose management,” “opioid monitoring,” and “therapeutic uses of opioids. ”Final-year Pharm-D students in Pakistan would benefit from more comprehensive education and practical training across multiple opioid-related domains to better protect patient safety in clinical practice. Updating pharmacy curricula and instructional methods is necessary to strengthen these competencies.
