Pharmacy Students’ Professional Skill Development through a Scaffolded Internship

Abstract

Description of the problem: The establishment of hospital pharmacy internships helps promote the growth of student pharmacists alongside the standard pharmacy curriculum. These programs are vital to helping students expand their clinical knowledge, while also benefiting the host institution. Our objective was to characterize the value of a longitudinal internship program to both the institution and its interns. Description of the innovation: The Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (AHWFB) Pharmacy Intern Program is a unique program designed with a scaffolded concept that directly complements traditional pharmacy school curriculum and provides interns opportunities to complement tasks of health-system pharmacists. Starting with operational responsibilities in the central distribution pharmacy during the first year of the curriculum, the interns transition to more patient-facing roles during the second and third years. Throughout the course of the program, interns are also given opportunities to participate in research and professional development activities. An IRB-approved, retrospective, observational study was conducted to evaluate the benefits of the program to the institution and interns. Critical analysis: Intern interventions were quantitatively evaluated to determine institutional benefit. From October 2017 to June 2020, 16 interns completed a total of 7,191 interventions, which equates to approximately $1,295,825 of cost avoidance for the institution. A quality assurance survey was also conducted to evaluate the program’s benefit to the interns. Fourteen of the 16 eligible interns participated in the survey. Of the 14 participating interns, 85.7% (n=12) strongly agreed with overall satisfaction of the program. Additionally, 71% (n=10) strongly agreed with feeling more professionally prepared than their classmates. Next steps: Implementing a scaffolded internship program has positively benefited AHWFB and the participating interns. The program’s design allows for clinical and professional development alongside the pharmacy school curriculum.

Integrating learners into research and quality improvement projects: A joint opinion of the Adult Medicine and Education and Training Practice Research Networks of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy

“…34 This can be mitigated by developing formalized training programs, setting clear research plans and expectations, instituting research contracts, and having detailed project onboarding processes. 16,32,41 Training programs, such as the 12-week summer program described one study, may yield more published full text manuscripts and abstracts. 41 the roles and responsibilities of the mentor(s) and learner(s), criteria for authorship, authorship order, objectives, expectations for drafts, deadlines, and more, all to be mutually agreed upon by the study investigators.…”

“…Aside from the skillset, interest, and experience gained by learners participating in research, additional tangible benefits exist. Students may obtain credit hours for research or compensation via paid internship programs 16 . Research experience is also beneficial for students seeking postgraduate training, being associated with increased invitations for pharmacy residency interviews and improved residency match rates 7,17,18 .…”

“…Research can be intimidating for any beginner 34 . This can be mitigated by developing formalized training programs, setting clear research plans and expectations, instituting research contracts, and having detailed project onboarding processes 16,32,41 . Training programs, such as the 12‐week summer program described one study, may yield more published full text manuscripts and abstracts 41 .…”

“…Students may obtain credit hours for research or compensation via paid internship programs. 16 Research experience is also beneficial for students seeking postgraduate training, being associated with increased invitations for pharmacy residency interviews and improved residency match rates. 7,17,18 Formal research training during residency is associated with increased confidence in statistical analysis and critique of the literature, future publication rates, and potential independent researchers who can train future learners.…”