A Research Partnership to Enhance Postgraduate Pharmacy Residency Training Outcomes

Abstract

Pharmacy residents must complete research as part of their program; however, challenges exist in providing experiences that result in successful research dissemination outcomes. A university-based research team, integrated into an ambulatory care pharmacy residency program aimed to improve presentation and publication rates of pharmacy resident research projects. Data on the number of postgraduate year-2 (PGY2) residents and their productivity were collected and summarized to assess progress. A total of 13 residents completed their residency over seven years. Each resident produced one regional presentation, and one national presentation beginning in year four. To date, three peer-reviewed papers have been published, with another one in-press. Responses from residents found lack of guidance, lack of data availability for projects and feedback fatigue were barriers to a positive research experience. To address these problems, a university-based research team was integrated to provide research mentor guided support, ensure study feasibility, and provide structured feedback. This program evaluation highlighted the integration of a PGY2 ambulatory care pharmacy residency with a designated, interprofessional university-based research team. Future work is warranted to reduce research-related barriers and formally evaluate resident post-program knowledge, skills, and subsequent dissemination rates.

Online promotion of resident research and research training among postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residency programs

“…In addition to providing a more informative representation of the PGY1 research experience itself, indicating previous or ongoing resident research efforts may give prospective candidates a richer picture of pharmacists' clinical practice at the residency site by highlighting recent patient care initiatives or clinical controversies. Articles describing programs' approaches to residency research training have been reviewed elsewhere 26 ; notably, partnering with other residency programs to establish research training networks 27 or collaborating with researchers at a local college of pharmacy 28 are strategies that have been used successfully and may be preferable for PGY1 programs with limited internal resources.…”

Best practices for supporting and improving pharmacy resident research and quality improvement projects

“…In one study, the use of an interprofessional, university-based research team that was developed to address challenges in the resident research process led to all residents presenting at one regional or national presentation. 42 In another study, residents given advice by an institution-specific research committee (with clinical pharmacy specialists, a data analytics expert, and a statistics expert) led over 80% of surveyed residents to agree that the committee helped anticipate barriers and improved project quality. 43 T A B L E 1 Recommendations to enhance the value of resident research and projects.…”

“…Availability of experienced collaborators is often a challenge that may be addressed by involving non‐site‐specific and non‐pharmacist research experts as needed. In one study, the use of an interprofessional, university‐based research team that was developed to address challenges in the resident research process led to all residents presenting at one regional or national presentation 42 . In another study, residents given advice by an institution‐specific research committee (with clinical pharmacy specialists, a data analytics expert, and a statistics expert) led over 80% of surveyed residents to agree that the committee helped anticipate barriers and improved project quality 43 …”

Research and scholarly methods: Creating a research protocol

“…Studies have shown the value of pharmacy students, residents, and fellows conducting research. [6][7][8][9][10][11] However, when pharmacy students, residents, fellows, faculty, or other early career pharmacists do engage in research, it is often their first time, or one of their first times, and they may therefore be unprepared.…”

“…Some pharmacy students, residents, or fellows pursue a career in academia where they are typically required to engage in scholarly activities. Studies have shown the value of pharmacy students, residents, and fellows conducting research 6–11 . However, when pharmacy students, residents, fellows, faculty, or other early career pharmacists do engage in research, it is often their first time, or one of their first times, and they may therefore be unprepared.…”