The Current Landscape of College-Sponsored Postgraduate Teaching and Learning Curriculum Programs

Abstract

Objective. To describe the landscape of teaching and learning curriculum (TLC) programs sponsored by US schools and colleges of pharmacy and evaluate their adoption of best practice recommendations. Methods. A 28-item electronic survey instrument was developed based on best practice recommendations published by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) for the conduct of TLC programs. The survey instrument was electronically distributed to 137 accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States. Results. Eighty-eight institutions responded, resulting in a response rate of 64%. Sixty-one TLC programs were included in the final analysis. Seventy-five percent of TLC programs reported using best practice recommendations; however, 10% of respondents indicated they were not aware of the published recommendations. Inconsistencies among programs were noted in required teaching experiences, participant evaluation, and ongoing programmatic assessment. Conclusion. Most institutions offering TLC programs are aware of published best practice guidelines and have adopted a majority of the published best practices. However, considerable variability exists across the country. Development of a formal external validation process for TLC programs is necessary to ensure consistent quality.

Availability and characteristics of teaching and learning curriculum programs for first year pharmacy residents: A national perspective

“…The same proportion of responding residency programs (94%) offers a TLC program to their residents on a compulsory or optional basis (47% and 47%, respectively), which is similar to the findings of Darko et al 14 The majority of TLC programs affiliated with responding residency programs are offered by schools and colleges of pharmacy and has been a focus of other published studies 8,9 . Our study incorporated feedback on TLC programs that are unaffiliated with schools and colleges of pharmacy or those that utilize other structures (15.9%), which is similar to data reported by Darko et al (20.2%) 14 …”

“…Experience with teaching activities is necessary to develop teaching prowess in a variety of settings including assessments. Similar trends were noted in a survey of college of pharmacy‐sponsored TLC programs 9 . Sheehan and colleagues found a similarly high rate of TLC participants delivering a traditional academic lecture at 78.7% but only 60.7% took part in assessment development 9 …”

“…In 2014, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Pharmacy Practice Section's Task Force on Student Engagement and Involvement (endorsed by ASHP) recommended TLC programs should be facilitated by schools and colleges of pharmacy 4 . To that end, several surveys have been published that focus on this specific population 8,9 . Islam and colleagues surveyed all US colleges and schools of pharmacy and manually evaluated school websites to determine that 69 of 132 pharmacy schools offered TLC programs 8 .…”

“…Islam and colleagues surveyed all US colleges and schools of pharmacy and manually evaluated school websites to determine that 69 of 132 pharmacy schools offered TLC programs 8 . Another survey of the same population published by Sheehan and colleagues revealed 77% of respondents offered a TLC program 9 . They had a response rate of 64% and at the time of their survey there were 137 accredited schools of pharmacy.…”

“…Using data from Islam and Sheehan, an estimated 52% to 77% of schools of colleges of pharmacy offer TLC programs. If there are an average of 17 participants in each program and data can be extrapolated to all 141 colleges and schools of pharmacy, then an estimated 1253 to 1846 residents have the opportunity to complete a TLC program annually 8‐10 . This number is much less than the >4000 available PGY1 positions in the residency match 7…”