Trends in Pharmacy
Education: Implications
for New Faculty Members
Victor A Yanchick, PhD
Professor and Dean
School of Pharmacy
Virginia Commonwealth University
2008-2009 AACP President
Outline
• Characteristics of the pharmacy education
enterprise.
• Diversity of pharmacy schools and colleges.
• Issues and challenges in academic pharmacy
– looking to the future.
• Characteristics of pharmacy faculty.
• Why would you want to join academic
pharmacy?
• Choosing your first academic home – the next
step.
Characteristics of the Pharmacy
Education Enterprise
• Approximately 106 schools / colleges (some in
preliminary stages of accreditation).
• Accreditation by the Accreditation Council for
Pharmacy Education is essential for licensure.
• Zero to seven schools per state.
• Many new schools.
• Many existing schools are expanding class sizes or
developing satellite campuses.
• All award the Doctor of Pharmacy as the only entrylevel degree for practicing pharmacists.
From: SK Gershon, JM Cultice, KK Knapp, “How Many Pharmacists are in our Fulture.”
www.hhs.gov/pharmacy/phpharm/howmany.html presented at ASHP June 5, 2000
Diversity of Colleges and Schools
Pharmacy
• 42% are part of Academic Health Centers.
• Some have academic health centers associated with
their university at a distant campus (e.g., U. Texas, U.
Georgia, Purdue, U. Connecticut)
• Several are associated with osteopathic medical
schools.
• Some are associated with larger comprehensive
universities.
• Some are stand alone (e.g., St. Louis College of
Pharmacy, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy).
Diversity of Colleges and Schools
Pharmacy
• Public (state funded) and private.
• Urban and rural and in-between.
• Four year PharmD, Six year PharmD starting from high
school, and 3-year accelerated year-round programs.
• Some institutions are research-intensive and some are
more teaching-intensive.
• Class sizes range from 30 to 250 students.
• Some are at institutions that are Historically Black
Colleges/Universities (HBCUs).
• Some are parts of institutions sponsored by specific
religions.
Issues and Challenges in
Pharmacy Education
• Expansion to meet the pharmacist shortage
• Implementation of Institute of Medicine
objectives to improve health care
• Curriculum changes to meet CAPE outcomes
• Faculty recruitment and retention
• Assessment
Evidence of a continuing
pharmacist shortage:
• Estimated need for pharmacists to fulfill care and
distributive roles in 2020 is 417,000; shortfall in supply
estimated at 157,000 (Knapp, DA, Am J Pharm Ed 2002;66:421-9)
• Aggregate Demand Index continues to show
imbalance between supply and demand
(Knapp, KK, http://www.pharmacymanpower.com)
• Pharmacists report “excessively high” workload
(Schommer, et al. J Am. Pharm. Assoc. 2006:340-7)
• Number of elderly will double from 2000-2030; # of
prescriptions per patient is markedly higher for those
over 65.
Can we meet the demand?
• There are sufficient qualified applicants.
• Experiential education is a major limiting resource (Is
the disseminated model of experiential education the
optimal model? What can be done with simulation?
How can we support practitioners so they continue to
be willing to be educators? How do we improve the
quality of practices where our students are educated?)
• Faculty members (full time and adjunct or volunteer are
another limiting resource).
• Many models of distance education are being
implemented and assessed.
Issues and Challenges in
Pharmacy Education
• Expansion to meet the pharmacist shortage
• Implementation of Institute of Medicine
objectives to improve health care
• Curriculum changes to meet CAPE outcomes
• Faculty recruitment and retention
• Assessment
Can we be part of the healthcare
improvement solution?
• Healthcare in this country is uncoordinated, not
patient-focused, inefficient and expensive.
• IOM has recommended that health care
become:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Patient-centered (coordinated, integrated)
Team-delivered (interprofessional)
Evidence-based
Informatics-supported
Safer; more efficient and more effective
Engaged in continuous quality improvement
The CAPE outcomes and ACPE
suggest similar curricular focus.
• Pharmaceutical care
• Systems management
• Public Health
Issues and Challenges in
Pharmacy Education
• Expansion to meet the pharmacist shortage
• Implementation of Institute of Medicine
objectives to improve health care
• Curriculum changes to meet CAPE outcomes
• Faculty recruitment and retention
• Assessment
Type of Appointment
7% 2%
Majority of pharmacy faculty
are on full-time, calendaryear appointments
13%
Calendar FT
Acad FT
Calendar PT
Acad PT
78%
Tenure Status
Nontenuretrack
43%
Tenured
36%
Tenure-track
21%
Faculty Gender Diversity
1991-92 Full-time faculty
2007-08 Full-time faculty
100
100
80
80
60
60
40
40
20
20
0
0
dean
ast/asc
dean
full prof asc prof ast prof
instr
dean
ast/asc full prof asc prof ast prof
dean
instr
female
male
Three kinds of faculty
members
• Basic, translational, and clinical
pharmaceutical scientists.
• Practice faculty.
• Social and administrative pharmacy.
Discipline
2007-2008 Full-time faculty
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pharmacy Practice
2294
Pharmacology/Biological Sciences 643
Pharmaceutics
533
Medicinal Chemistry
524
Social/Admin Sciences
342
Continuing Education
42
Libraries/Educ Resources
26
Liberal Arts
21
What do they have in
common?
•
•
•
•
•
•
They all teach pharmacy students.
They all engage in scholarly work or research.
They all publish their work.
They all participate in service activities.
They all are experts in their fields.
The balance of teaching/research/service and
the expectations placed upon them will vary
with the mission of the school and the
university
How do they differ?
• Type and length of post-PharmD education
and training.
• Practice and patient care responsibilities for
some and not others.
• Educate residents and fellows vs graduate
students.
• Focus of research; amount of research
activity expected.
• Teaching in the classroom vs teaching in the
practice setting.
Practice Faculty
• PharmD  Residency (general; 1 year
specialty) or additional practice experience.
Some research training (exposure)  faculty
position. Pharmacy practice is a significant
portion of their job.
• Clinician-educator model accepted; usually
non-tenure track.
• Practice faculty and practitioners alike are
developing new modes or models of practice;
need to document, assess impact on patient
care outcomes and publish.
Faculty are change agents.
• Requires pharmacists who are competent
and confident in their skills and abilities.
• Requires pharmacists who understand how to
lead change and engage in continuous
quality improvement.
• Requires growth and maturation obtained
through residencies or very significant life
experiences.
Issues and Challenges in
Pharmacy Education
• Expansion to meet the pharmacist shortage
• Implementation of Institute of Medicine
objectives to improve health care
• Curriculum changes to meet CAPE outcomes
• Faculty recruitment and retention
• Assessment: Measure our graduates
performance and the impact of the
curriculum.
Issues in assessment
• How do we achieve excellence in all programs?
How do we define excellence? How do we
measure and document our students’ performance
and skills?
• ACPE is under pressure from the Department of
Education to develop more standardized
assessments.
• Progress exams? To assess individual and/or
institutional performance?
• Outcome exams? (should a standard Observed
Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) be
required prior to licensure?)
Why would you want to join
academic pharmacy?
What’s good about being a faculty
member?
• The ability to impact the future of the profession or your
discipline nationally and internationally.
• A wide variety of opportunities, including travel.
• Students are fun and challenging and keep you
intellectually young.
• You are constantly learning new things and can change
your focus over time; sabbaticals!
• You have freedom to choose your interests and to
choose how you spend each day, within the mission of
the school.
• It is the BEST job in all of pharmacy!
Attributes of a successful faculty member
• A passion for teaching.
• A passionate interest in one’s research or
practice area; a desire to improve practice.
• Communication skills (oral and writing).
• Interpersonal skills.
• Independence and self-direction…combined with
a willingness to work with others.
• A strong work ethic and the ability to balance
one’s life.
• Excellent post-Pharm.D. education and research
training – be prepared; don’t rush it!
My advice: Try it out by getting some teaching
experience as a resident; and then….
Go for it!