Student pharmacists' perceptions and awareness of community pharmacy practice residency programs.

OBJECTIVES

To assess student exposure to types of pharmacy practice, evaluate awareness and perceptions of community pharmacy residencies, and identify areas of postgraduate training of interest to student pharmacists.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, descriptive, online survey study.

SETTING

United States, January to April 2008.

PARTICIPANTS

Student pharmacists in the final 2 years of the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program.

INTERVENTION

An online survey was administered to students in the final 2 years of the PharmD program at randomly selected schools of pharmacy by region throughout the United States.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Awareness of student pharmacists regarding community pharmacy residencies and interest in postgraduate training.

RESULTS

254 surveys were completed during the study period. Of the respondents, 95% had previous experience working in a community pharmacy setting. Nearly 90% were aware of community pharmacy residencies. Students who indicated opportunities to publish (odds ratio 2.4 [95% CI 1.34-4.1]), teaching students (2.1 [1.36-3.14]), enjoying the job atmosphere (4.9 [1.54-15.60]), and clinically challenging (4.3 [2.15-8.67]) as desirable career attributes were more likely to be interested in postgraduate training. No significant differences existed in the information sources sought by students interested in community pharmacy residency programs (CPRPs) compared with those interested in other types of postgraduate training.

CONCLUSION

The significant predicators of student pharmacists interested in pursuing postgraduate training are in alignment with CPRP training. Further research is needed to market the value of CPRPs through the identified information sources.