Strategies for Developing Pharmacy Residents as Educators

Abstract

In 2009, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy appointed its first National Resident Advisory Committee and charged it with making recommendations on how residency programs should foster the development of their trainees as effective educators. Currently, many residency programs offer training in educational methods in the form of teaching certificate programs or additional rotations focused on teaching. However, these programs may not be formalized, and they vary in structure and quality. Moreover, many residency programs lack the resources to provide additional training in educational methods. Given the demand for pharmacists as educators, there is a need to train residents to teach. Therefore, the committee evaluated the literature and generated several strategies to aid in the development of pharmacy residents as educators. The committee recommends that programs should consider adopting principles and methods currently employed by successful teaching certificate programs, using distance-learning technology, increasing training for faculty and preceptors in educational principles and methods, standardizing programs, and developing self-learning and/or self-assessment tools to train residents. As the need for pharmacists to serve as effective educators continues to grow, it will be important for institutions, programs, and professional organizations to invest time and resources in training pharmacy residents and defining a minimal set of criteria to ensure the quality of training.

An Investigation of Teaching and Learning Programs in Pharmacy Education

“…10 Postgraduate pharmacy education has seen a large increase in teaching development programs for residents and fellows in the past decade. [11][12][13] These programs were created in part to prepare educators prior to an academic appointment. They were also meant to combat the faculty shortage that existed in pharmacy education by creating experienced residents who could quickly transition into a faculty position after completion of their program.…”

An Academic Multihealth System PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency Program

“…Considering the growing number of pharmacy schools and the corresponding need for clinical faculty and preceptors, 15,16 educating residents to be effective teachers and leaders in pharmacy practice is a priority for the profession. The Rutgers PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency has a heavy emphasis on academia and leadership.…”

“…4 Due to the rapid expansion of pharmacy schools, there is now an inadequate quantity of pharmacy faculty to accommodate the increased number of pharmacy schools. 15 For the academic year 2012-2013, a total of 119 colleges and schools of pharmacy reported 473 vacant and/or lost positions, a 14.8% increase from the year prior; 52.9% of these positions were in clinical science/pharmacy practice. 16 There is a clear need for additional PGY2 pediatric pharmacy residency programs.…”

An Asynchronous Learning Approach for the Instructional Component of a Dual-Campus Pharmacy Resident Teaching Program

“…1 Within the scope of these standards, specific curricular content and teaching methods offered in resident teaching programs varies, though pedagogy instruction prior to mentored teaching experiences is common. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Guidelines for resident teaching experiences were developed by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) to promote standardization. 10 These guidelines address teaching experience standards for residencies with or without a formal teaching program or certificate program through an affiliated academic institution.…”

“…A live seminar approach appears common for pedagogy instruction within teaching programs, although prerecorded or distance learning sessions have also been used. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][11][12] In fall 2010, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) began offering a teaching program to residents and fellows affiliated with the main campus in Albany, New York and the satellite campus in Colchester, Vermont. While not a "certificate program" according to New York State Department of Education requirements, the teaching program was designed to include requirements comparable to established resident teaching certificate programs in other states.…”