Pharmacists frequently serve as the first point of contact for patients seeking medical advice or assistance with health concerns, a role that has become even more prominent after the COVID-19 pandemic. Community pharmacists are expected to have a wide range of knowledge and skills. To facilitate their professional growth, it is important for them to assess their own competencies through self-reflection. The aim of this study is to evaluate pharmacists' clinical knowledge and practices regarding the safe use of contraceptives, compare the results of external assessments with pharmacists' self-evaluations of their knowledge, and explore the impact of preceptorship experiences. Contraceptives were selected as the focus due to the high rates of abortion as a form of contraception in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A survey-based method was used for this study. The survey had three sections: the first included two case scenarios on the safe use of contraceptives to assess clinical knowledge, the second focused on pharmacists' self-assessment of their ability to handle those cases, and the third collected demographic information, including preceptorship experience. The second section also evaluated dispensing practices. The survey was distributed to a sample of 100 pharmacists during the Annual Meeting of Pharmacists in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results were expressed as percentages, and statistical analyses were conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test to compare preceptors and non-preceptors, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired assessments, and Spearman’s correlation to explore associations between variables. A total of 84 out of 100 pharmacists invited to participate completed the survey, yielding an 84% response rate. The results showed a lack of alignment between the pharmacists’ actual knowledge (average score for case 2: 3.3, case 1: 2.71) and their self-reported knowledge (average score for case 1: 3.77, case 2: 3.91). While there was no significant difference in actual knowledge between pharmacists with or without preceptorship experience, a notable difference was found in the self-assessment scores between these two groups. In conclusion, pharmacists tend to overestimate their own abilities, resulting in a self-enhancement bias, with preceptorship experience having some impact on this perception. The ability of pharmacists to accurately assess their own clinical knowledge requires further investigation to ensure that they can provide the best possible care to patients.
