Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, College of Pharmacy, 4209 State Rt 44, Rootstown, OH 44272, United States.
Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy, 4209 State Rt 44, Rootstown, OH 44272, United States.
Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2024 Jan;16(1):34-38. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2023.12.009. Epub 2023 Dec 28.
Alumni are essential but often overlooked stakeholders for pharmacy programs, and engaging alumni in philanthropy, volunteerism, events, and communication may have important implications for the growth and success of pharmacy programs. This research aims to preliminarily characterize pharmacy alumni engagement across four metrics and provide a call to action for standardized tracking and reporting of alumni engagement efforts across the Academy.
A cross-sectional survey was sent to alumni relations and advancement personnel at United States schools and colleges of pharmacy. The survey gathered information on the accuracy of pharmacy alumni records, alumni engagement within four categories (philanthropy, communication, events, and volunteering), alumni relations personnel, and barriers to alumni engagement efforts.
Respondents reported using various database systems to track and measure alumni engagement, and 41% noted having accurate pharmacy alumni records. Opportunities for alumni engagement within the four categories varied across institutions. Fifty percent of respondents indicated that one full-time equivalent position is allocated to pharmacy alumni engagement efforts at their institution. Barriers to alumni engagement efforts included limited budgets, and staff, engaging alumni via in-person events, and maintaining accurate alumni records.
The Academy may benefit from expanding the annual alumni survey and developing a consistent tracking mechanism to capture and report alumni engagement activities. Additionally, education on alumni engagement metrics and potential collaborative efforts with institutional alumni relations personnel would be of value. This is vital in developing and optimizing alumni relations efforts and engaging pharmacy alumni bases.
校友是药学项目的重要但经常被忽视的利益相关者，让校友参与慈善事业、志愿服务、活动和交流，可能对药学项目的发展和成功产生重要影响。本研究旨在通过四个指标初步描述药学专业校友的参与情况，并呼吁在学会范围内对校友参与工作进行标准化跟踪和报告。
向美国药学学校和学院的校友关系和发展人员发送了一份横断面调查。该调查收集了有关药学校友记录准确性、四个类别（慈善事业、交流、活动和志愿工作）内的校友参与情况、校友关系人员以及校友参与工作障碍的信息。
受访者报告说使用各种数据库系统来跟踪和衡量校友的参与度，41%的受访者表示拥有准确的药学校友记录。四个类别的校友参与机会因机构而异。50%的受访者表示，他们所在机构分配了一个全职当量职位用于药学校友的参与工作。校友参与工作的障碍包括有限的预算和人员、通过面对面活动与校友互动以及维护准确的校友记录。
学会可能受益于扩大年度校友调查，并开发一个一致的跟踪机制，以捕捉和报告校友参与活动。此外，对校友参与度指标的教育以及与机构校友关系人员的潜在合作努力将具有价值。这对于发展和优化校友关系工作以及参与药学校友群体至关重要。
