Final Report and Recommendations of the 2002 AACP Task Force on the Role of Colleges and Schools in Residency Training

Abstract

In September 2002, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Council of Deans and Pharmacy Practice Section appointed this Task Force and charged it to develop a white paper addressing the role of colleges and schools in developing and administering residency programs. Specifically, the issues to be addressed included:1. What role should colleges and schools of pharmacy play in developing new residencies? Is there a national need at this time for new ones? If so, what should collegiate responsibility be? What are potential models of investment to help develop new residencies?Corollary: What role does residency training play in preparing future faculty? Are there educational experiences that should be incorporated into residency programs that prepare future faculty?2. Explore the postgraduate medical training model that involves schools holding the accreditation for a program and schools then approving the specific training sites. Such a model is already possible for community pharmacy residencies. Should it be applied to other types of pharmacy residency training? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a model?3. What needs to be done to make available maximum resources for residency training?4. How can colleges partner with residency sites in residency research projects and encourage some residents to seek additional training in order to assume faculty positions? BACKGROUNDPharmacy residency programs are desirable for advanced patient care practice and future pharmacy leaders. Such programs are estimated to be equivalent to three to five years of work experience to prepare pharmacists for a variety of practice settings. Individuals with residency training can assist colleges and schools of pharmacy in several ways: (a) as full time faculty; (b) as preceptors for the experiential portion of the program; (c) as administrators at hospitals and clinics who can partner with colleges of pharmacy on a common educational mission; (d) as professional leaders on political advocacy issues that can enhance resources to support entry level and advanced pharmacy education; and (e) as pharmacist role models of patient care practice. For this reason, it is essential that colleges of pharmacy assume a significant role in residency training.Colleges and schools of pharmacy are also facing faculty shortages in departments/divisions of pharmacy practice.1 AACP contacted 84 member institutions to complete a survey in December 2002. Responses were received from 67 (79%) colleges/schools, which reported a total of 417 vacant teaching positions, or an average of 6 vacancies per college/school. Of the vacancies, 53.4% were in pharmacy practice and 45.6% were in pharmaceutical sciences. Of the vacancies, 94% were full time faculty positions. 2 The shortages are thought to be due to an inadequate supply of potential faculty, problems with faculty retention, and increased demand for faculty. Multiple etiologies have been proposed including lower salaries of faculty positions compared with industry, hospital, or c...

Final Report Deans' Council Task Force on Post Graduate Pharmacy (Residency) Education, July 2007

“…With additional specialized residency or fellowship training, pharmacy residents can assume tenure-track positions and eventually mature into department chairs and deans at colleges. 7 Pharmacy residents are leaders engaged in developing service models of exemplary pharmacy practice in which positive and measurable patient care outcomes are the goal. In the short term, the patients at the facilities where the residents are practicing derive direct benefit through decreased adverse drug reactions, decreased drug interactions, and improved responses to prescribed drug treatment.…”

“…The task force suggested efforts to ''document value'' of residency training and to ''facilitate federal and state funding'' to allow growth of such education programs. 7 Similarly, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy provided a position statement indicating a ''quantum leap'' is needed in the expansion of existing residency programs in order to support approximately 10,000 pharmacy graduates per year by 2020.…”

“…Assuming that pharmacy residents trained in any of these settings will eventually practice in these settings, the colleges can derive all the same short-and long-term benefits described above for the more typical institutional practice. 7 PGY-1 residents may only acquire an appreciation of the importance of conducting a research project, but not complete one from start to finish. PGY-2 residents are more likely to design, complete, present, and publish the results of a research project.…”

Experiential Education Delivery—Ensuring Success Through Support and Development of the Faculty and Administrative Team: Report of the 2004–2005 Professional Affairs Committee

“…Although one-half of schools and colleges of pharmacy currently allow pharmacy residents to gain teaching experience by serving as primary preceptors, 5 such experience rarely fully prepares residents to assume faculty positions, especially tenure-track appointments. 11 The 2000-01 report of the Research and Graduate Affairs Committee stated that faculty appointees with only one year of residency training are at a significant disadvantage within tenure-track positions. This is primarily due to their lack of preparation to satisfy the scholarship aspects of such positions.…”

Impact and Application of Material Learned in a Pharmacy Residency Teaching Certificate Program

“…1 These programs stemmed from a need to introduce residents to the fundamental elements of effective teaching, to provide them with opportunities to develop teachingrelated skills, and to more adequately prepare them for future careers in academia. 2,3 Teaching certificate programs provide pharmacy residents with more teaching and precepting experiences, increase residents' confidence in their teaching abilities, and aid in obtaining employment. [4][5][6][7] Furthermore, exposing residents to various activities within academia may stimulate their interest in pursuing this pharmacy career path.…”