Four years of experiences of a joint school of pharmacy and school of education pharmacy residency teaching certificate program for affiliated residency programs

PurposeTo describe four years of experiences of a joint school of pharmacy and school of education pharmacy residency teaching certificate program (PRTCP) for affiliated residency programs and evaluate the impact on teaching abilities and confidence.MethodsDescriptive data was collected based on observations of the authors for four residency classes from 2007 to 2011. The PRTCP provided formalized training in teaching through multiple requirements including: pedagogy seminars, didactic experiences, small group facilitation, experiential education, teaching philosophy statement development, and teaching portfolio development. The program included residents from small affiliated residency programs (three or fewer residents per program) based at nonacademic institutions along with new faculty and residency preceptors. After four years, graduates were surveyed one time through SurveyMonkey™ for demographic data and to assess self-perceived teaching abilities and confidence.ResultsOf the 25 previous residents, 17 completed the survey. Prior to the PRTCP, respondents had a median score of three (out of five) in teaching skill and ability, compared to a median score of four after completing the requirements. Likewise, respondents had a median score of two in confidence as a teacher, compared to a median score of four after completing the requirements. When asked if the PRTCP had been beneficial professionally, 94% of participants responded as “agree” or “strongly agree.” The majority noted precepting as the most common teaching experience in practice, followed by small group facilitation, classroom lectures, and in-services.ConclusionsA joint school of pharmacy and school of education PRTCP program has increased resident-perceived teaching abilities and confidence.