Pharmacy Residents' Pursuit of Academic Positions
Pharmacy Residents' Pursuit of Academic Positions
Objective. To describe pharmacy residents' interest in and pursuit of academic positions.
Methods. An electronic presurvey and postsurvey were sent to pharmacy residents during the 2011–2012 residency year. The initial survey evaluated residents' job preferences and interest in academia at the beginning of residency, and the follow-up survey focused on job selection and reasons for pursuing or not pursuing positions in academia.
Results. Nine hundred thirty-six residents responded to the initial survey and 630 participated in both the initial and follow-up survey. Forty-eight percent of those responding to both surveys strongly considered a career in academia in the initial survey, 28% applied for an academic position, and 7% accepted a position. Second-year postgraduate residents were more likely than first-year postgraduate residents to apply for and be offered a faculty position.
Conclusion. Pharmacy residents are interested in academia. While increasing interest among residents is encouraging for faculty recruitment, the academy should also encourage and develop adequate training experiences to prepare residents to succeed in these positions.
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) identified faculty recruitment and retention as critical issues to the academic pharmacy profession in 2002. Since that time, the association has published yearly reports on the status of lost and vacant faculty positions at colleges and schools of pharmacy to track the shortage. AACP proposes several recommendations to improve how new pharmacists prepare to become faculty members. These recommendations include requiring postgraduate training, such as residencies or fellowships, before obtaining a faculty position and incorporating formal preparation in teaching into these trainings. Similarly, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) recommends that postgraduate training should be required for new clinical pharmacy faculty members. Furthermore, Leiker et al's survey of pharmacy faculty members found 64% of respondents agreed a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency should be required for appointment as an adjunct clinical faculty member or as a preceptor, and 50% of respondents agreed that a postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) residency should be required for appointment as assistant professor.
All residency programs have a required educational outcome to provide medication and practice-related education/training as part of their accreditation standards. These outcomes do not specify didactic, experiential, or clinical teaching; however many residency programs, especially those affiliated with schools of pharmacy, include formal teaching instruction as a component of residents' experience, and many now offer teaching certificate programs. Aistrope et al found 27% of programs from the online residency directory of the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy (ASHP) had a formal teaching certificate program in 2010. Considering the growth of and demand for quality pharmacy residency programs and the ongoing need for pharmacy faculty members, especially within the pharmacy practice division, pharmacy residents continue to be ideal candidates for faculty recruitment.
In 2006, Clark et al found 8% (3/40) of community pharmacy residents accepted faculty positions upon completion of their residencies. Factors that influenced their decision included positive teaching experiences and relationships with mentors or preceptors. Sheaffer et al surveyed final-year pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and new pharmacy faculty members to determine motivating or deterring variables in considering a career in academic pharmacy. They found the potential need to generate one's salary (eg, grant funding) as the primary deterrent against considering academic positions, while autonomy, flexibility, and the ability to shape the future of the profession were primary motivators. Of newly hired, first-time pharmacy faculty members in pharmacy practice or clinical positions in 2012–2013, 56% went directly from residency to their faculty positions, and 29% became clinicians after residency and later took faculty positions.
In the past several years, multiple factors potentially influenced residency graduates' interest in academic and clinical educator positions. In 2008, the declining financial climate in the United States decreased demand for traditional pharmacist positions. However, the number of schools of pharmacy continued to rise. One hundred twenty-nine programs offered the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) as a first professional degree as of January 2014, which represented a more than 40% increase in programs since 2005. Furthermore, the changes in health care models continued to promote the expansion of pharmacist roles in all health care arenas. Residency programs grew as well, with the number of PGY1 programs increasing by 65%, and PGY2 programs increasing by 127% between 2007 and 2013. This growth included the emergence of several PGY2 residencies with an emphasis in academia designed to prepare residents to become faculty members.
Thus, residency programs continue to serve as a prominent training pathway for academic careers. However, no recent studies have investigated the number of new residents pursuing academic careers or the factors influencing their decision, including the aforementioned shifts in the pharmacy profession. The objectives of this study were to determine the percent of pharmacy residents who accepted an academic position at the end of residency and to identify factors that influenced pharmacy residents' decisions to pursue or not pursue careers in academia.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Objective. To describe pharmacy residents' interest in and pursuit of academic positions.
Methods. An electronic presurvey and postsurvey were sent to pharmacy residents during the 2011–2012 residency year. The initial survey evaluated residents' job preferences and interest in academia at the beginning of residency, and the follow-up survey focused on job selection and reasons for pursuing or not pursuing positions in academia.
Results. Nine hundred thirty-six residents responded to the initial survey and 630 participated in both the initial and follow-up survey. Forty-eight percent of those responding to both surveys strongly considered a career in academia in the initial survey, 28% applied for an academic position, and 7% accepted a position. Second-year postgraduate residents were more likely than first-year postgraduate residents to apply for and be offered a faculty position.
Conclusion. Pharmacy residents are interested in academia. While increasing interest among residents is encouraging for faculty recruitment, the academy should also encourage and develop adequate training experiences to prepare residents to succeed in these positions.
Introduction
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) identified faculty recruitment and retention as critical issues to the academic pharmacy profession in 2002. Since that time, the association has published yearly reports on the status of lost and vacant faculty positions at colleges and schools of pharmacy to track the shortage. AACP proposes several recommendations to improve how new pharmacists prepare to become faculty members. These recommendations include requiring postgraduate training, such as residencies or fellowships, before obtaining a faculty position and incorporating formal preparation in teaching into these trainings. Similarly, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) recommends that postgraduate training should be required for new clinical pharmacy faculty members. Furthermore, Leiker et al's survey of pharmacy faculty members found 64% of respondents agreed a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency should be required for appointment as an adjunct clinical faculty member or as a preceptor, and 50% of respondents agreed that a postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) residency should be required for appointment as assistant professor.
All residency programs have a required educational outcome to provide medication and practice-related education/training as part of their accreditation standards. These outcomes do not specify didactic, experiential, or clinical teaching; however many residency programs, especially those affiliated with schools of pharmacy, include formal teaching instruction as a component of residents' experience, and many now offer teaching certificate programs. Aistrope et al found 27% of programs from the online residency directory of the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy (ASHP) had a formal teaching certificate program in 2010. Considering the growth of and demand for quality pharmacy residency programs and the ongoing need for pharmacy faculty members, especially within the pharmacy practice division, pharmacy residents continue to be ideal candidates for faculty recruitment.
In 2006, Clark et al found 8% (3/40) of community pharmacy residents accepted faculty positions upon completion of their residencies. Factors that influenced their decision included positive teaching experiences and relationships with mentors or preceptors. Sheaffer et al surveyed final-year pharmacy students, pharmacy residents, and new pharmacy faculty members to determine motivating or deterring variables in considering a career in academic pharmacy. They found the potential need to generate one's salary (eg, grant funding) as the primary deterrent against considering academic positions, while autonomy, flexibility, and the ability to shape the future of the profession were primary motivators. Of newly hired, first-time pharmacy faculty members in pharmacy practice or clinical positions in 2012–2013, 56% went directly from residency to their faculty positions, and 29% became clinicians after residency and later took faculty positions.
In the past several years, multiple factors potentially influenced residency graduates' interest in academic and clinical educator positions. In 2008, the declining financial climate in the United States decreased demand for traditional pharmacist positions. However, the number of schools of pharmacy continued to rise. One hundred twenty-nine programs offered the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) as a first professional degree as of January 2014, which represented a more than 40% increase in programs since 2005. Furthermore, the changes in health care models continued to promote the expansion of pharmacist roles in all health care arenas. Residency programs grew as well, with the number of PGY1 programs increasing by 65%, and PGY2 programs increasing by 127% between 2007 and 2013. This growth included the emergence of several PGY2 residencies with an emphasis in academia designed to prepare residents to become faculty members.
Thus, residency programs continue to serve as a prominent training pathway for academic careers. However, no recent studies have investigated the number of new residents pursuing academic careers or the factors influencing their decision, including the aforementioned shifts in the pharmacy profession. The objectives of this study were to determine the percent of pharmacy residents who accepted an academic position at the end of residency and to identify factors that influenced pharmacy residents' decisions to pursue or not pursue careers in academia.
