Pharmacists’ perception of non-traditional pharmacy practice residencies

Introduction: American College of Clinical Pharmacists (ACCP) and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) have proposed that all pharmacists entering direct patient care roles be residency trained by 2015. Recently, the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) has stated that all VA pharmacists are now considered to be clinical. Along with this promotion, VHA is expecting all pharmacists to take on clinical duties traditionally reserved for residency trained pharmacists. Without additional training, staff pharmacists may not have the skills for the new job requirements. One method to bridge this gap is through non-traditional residencies offered to currently employed pharmacists. An evaluation of non-traditional residency structure, barriers and incentives to potential applications has not been published previously. This information is needed for program directors to understand the needs of this applicant pool and develop these programs to fit their needs to encourage a wide variety of applicants. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the pharmacists’ perception of non-traditional pharmacy practice residencies within Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) and the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP). Methods: A voluntary attitude survey of pharmacists on their perception of non-traditional pharmacy practice residencies using a Likert scale was distributed to MEDVAMC and TSHP Pharmacists. Participants were questioned about their knowledge on non-traditional residencies, level of post-graduate training, necessary components of a non-traditional residency and training equivalence to traditional pharmacy practice residencies. Results: The survey was distributed to 1131 pharmacists in the state of Texas and 156 surveys were completed for a response rate of 13.8%. Overall, 50% of survey participants believed that a non-traditional pharmacy practice residency is equal training to a traditional pharmacy practice residency. The survey data indicated that the ideal structure of a non-traditional pharmacy practice residency would be one to two years in length, not change the employees’ salary, acquire ASHP accreditation and not require continued employment after residency graduation. Conclusion: Non-traditional pharmacy practice residencies are seen as equal training to traditional pharmacy practice residencies. When developing a non-traditional pharmacy practice residency program, the program director should consider incorporating the important aspects to potential non-traditional residency candidates including continuation of the pharmacist’s current salary, completing the residency in the shortest time frame possible and ASHP accreditation.