Promoting health equity in pharmacy postgraduate training programs: A call to action for clinical pharmacists

Abstract

Shortages of primary care providers across the United States have exacerbated health disparities, particularly for marginalized groups. As one of the most accessible healthcare professionals in the United States, pharmacists are well‐positioned to help address health disparities. Addressing health inequities is an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education requirement in pharmacy school curricula, however, there is currently no standardized requirement to incorporate these principles into postgraduate pharmacy residency or fellowship training. A PubMed search was conducted to explore examples of health equity inclusion within postgraduate training for pharmacy and similar healthcare disciplines, as well as identify best practices. As limited models—pertaining to pharmacy postgraduate training programs—were available, this endeavor aims to provide recommendations for the successful implementation of health equity education into didactic and experiential learning opportunities.

Postgraduate pharmacy training: Much progress and much more to do

“…Despite an increased focus on DEI‐related initiatives in recent years, there is a general lack of structured, intentional health equity training in postgraduate pharmacy training—we have more to do! To that end, Teklu et al call for clinical pharmacists to act, providing five actionable recommendations for practicing pharmacists and stakeholders to incorporate health equity principles into postgraduate pharmacy training 16 …”