Clinical pharmacists in family practice residency programs.

A project was undertaken to determine the number, specific activities, and demographics of clinical pharmacists directly involved with residency programs in family practice. A survey was mailed to the directors of all 381 family practice residencies, with a request either to forward it to the participating pharmacist or to return the survey if a pharmacist did not directly participate in the teaching program. With two mailings, responses were received from 85.3% of the residencies, with 80 pharmacists completing surveys. While the involvement of pharmacists in family practice residencies was similar to that reported in a survey 9 years ago, academic appointments and funding, in whole or in part by a college of medicine, had increased. This increased involvement may represent an acknowledgment by medical educators in family practice of the value of pharmacists participating in residency programs.