PHARMACY EDUCATION AND TRAINING MODELS

To promote pharmacy education and training models that: (1) provide experiential and residency training in interprofessional patient care; (2) use the knowledge, skills, and abilities of students and residents in providing direct patient care; and (3) promote use of innovative and contemporary learning models; further,

To encourage the collaboration between colleges of pharmacy and residency programs with accreditation agencies on innovative education and training models; further,

To support the assessment and dissemination of the impact of these pharmacy education and training models on the quality of learner experiences and patient care outcomes.

Rationale

Pharmacy training models are continuously evolving. The ideal training model includes characteristics such as flexibility to be useful in all patient care settings, providing patient care through an interprofessional team, and allowing team members to practice at the top of their licenses. Many healthcare organizations are successfully employing innovative and contemporary training models. One such model is the layered learning approach to residency and student pharmacist training, in which a pharmacist oversees multiple residents, student pharmacists, and sometimes generalist pharmacists. Each member of this pharmacy team is integrated into a patient care team, with specific roles and responsibilities, but each also has accountability to the supervising pharmacist. The layered learning model may be more practical in larger institutions, however, because they have more staff, residents, and student pharmacists than smaller hospitals. ASHP recognizes that it is important to individualize the training program to the practice site and its corresponding practice model and supports the assessment of the impact of these pharmacy training models on the quality of learner experiences and patient care outcomes. Training models should prioritize instilling a strong sense of accountability to patients and their medication-related outcomes, preparing the next generation of pharmacists for independent practice. It's crucial to account for preceptors' capacity, balancing their ability to fulfill job responsibilities while effectively mentoring learners within a layered learning model. Additionally, identifying pharmacy-specific metrics and indicators is essential to evaluate the impact of education and training programs on improved medication-related outcomes, ensuring that these models directly contribute to enhancing patient care.