Changes in career and practice of pharmacy after obtaining a degree through an external doctor of pharmacy program

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Spring 2002 by Joyner, Pamela U, Thomason, Tracy E, Smith, Scott R

Of the eight required courses in the external PharmD curriculum, the two therapeutics courses were considered the most relevant to clinical pharmacy practice and most integral to the external PharmD curriculum, even surpassing the general medicine and elective clerkships in this consideration. Piascik, et al.(1) also reported that respondents cited therapeutics as the most useful course in the University of Kentucky's nontraditional PharmD program.

It is interesting to note that the results of the current study closely match those expected from a statewide needs assessment conducted during the fall of 1994(4). The purpose of the statewide needs assessment was to: (i) determine the level of interest of North Carolina pharmacists in obtaining a PharmD degree through an external format; (ii) examine reasons for interest; and (iii) evaluate program design strategies. The results of this 1994 survey indicated a mean age of 37 years for the respondents who expressed interest in the external PharmD, and most of the respondents expressing interest in the external program were married with children. The largest percentage of the 356 respondents indicating interest in an external program identified themselves as hospital pharmacists (43.5 percent). Similarly, the results of the first 107 UNC-CH external PharmD graduates indicated that the typical graduate is 39 years of age and married. Fifty-five percent of the external PharmD graduates practice in hospital pharmacy settings.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study suggest that completion of the UNCCH External Doctor of Pharmacy Program may assist graduates in changing practice settings, obtaining new job titles and achieving new job responsibilities. This may result because these graduates have acquired knowledge and skills that enable them to make advances in their practice settings. Despite these benefits, barriers such as the cost of tuition, lack of support from employers and time commitment must be addressed for adult learners considering these types of nontraditional programs. Further study will be necessary to evaluate exact characteristics of the best modes or combination of modes of delivery to ensure the maximum impact of the PharmD degree on the career and practice of pharmacy for graduates of UNC-CH School of Pharmacy's External Doctor of Pharmacy Program. In the future, principles and technologies learned and utilized in the External PharmD Program at UNC-CH may influence the delivery of continuing education programs as the need for the nontraditional PharmD program begins to decline.

References

(1) Piascik, M.M., Butler, D. and Legrand, B.F., "Outcome survey of nontraditional PharmD graduates," Am. J. Pharm. Educ., 56, 83S(1992).

(2) Fjortoft, N.F. and Engle, J.P., "Effect of the nontraditional PharmD on individual practice patterns," ibid., 59, 223-227(1995).

(3) Fjortoft, N.F., Weigand, L. and Lee, M., "Effect of the nontraditional PharmD degree on practice patterns based on a survey of graduates from six programs," ibid., 63, 305-309(1999).