Participants’ perceptions of a residency teaching certificate program: the quality, impact and benefits

Abstract

Background: Currently, there are no accreditation requirements for pharmacy resident teaching certificate programs (RTCPs) but rather suggested guidelines and documents for individual programs to follow. RTCP curriculums are often “handed-down” from past personnel and vary based on individual interpretation. Quality improvement may be overlooked when programs do not report to governing bodies.
 Objective: The primary objective of this quality improvement project was threefold: 1) to identify past RTCP participants’ perceptions regarding program seminars, activities, and requirements; 2) to determine the short-term and long-term impact on participant careers and interaction with learners; and 3) to improve the program to meet participants' needs.
 Methods: A 25 item Qualtrics survey was sent to 93 past pharmacy residents who completed the RTCP. Delivery of the survey was confirmed to 89 previous residents. Participants provided consent and were given 12 days to complete the survey. Data was collected and coded by the research team independently.
 Results: The participants hold positions in a variety of roles, with 68.3% of participants currently holding a non-academia position. The top five most beneficial activities during the RTCP were: giving a large room lecture, facilitating small group learning, developing test questions, delivering professional CE, and meeting with their teaching mentor. Most seminar topics were beneficial to residents during the RTCP, with over two-thirds of the topics (n=23) found beneficial by at least 90% of the participants. A total of 92.9% of respondents said that the most beneficial aspect of having an assigned mentor was the teaching advice and feedback provided.
 Conclusions: The perceptions and beliefs of past RTCP participants were obtained regarding how beneficial the programming, activities, and mentorship offered were during and after RTCP completion. Quality improvement ideas from this work include redistribution of time in seminars compared to hands-on activities, the adoption of tracks or concentrations within the RTCP, and the creation of mentor training and development.

Evidence for the development of skills for education, leadership and innovation through experiential‐based foundational pharmacy residency programs: a narrative review

“…11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Foundation pharmacy residency programs have improved residents' competencies to deliver education and teaching, and to build the foundational skills in becoming strong mentors and preceptors when offered the adequate opportunities. [13][14][15][20][21][22][24][25][26] In the USA, the use of teaching certificate programs for pharmacy residents to gain the knowledge and competencies to deliver pharmacy education and refine their skills in teaching and mentoring has become a core component of residency training. 13,14,17,18,[20][21][22]26 Multiple studies have demonstrated the different teaching and education competencies that residents gain throughout pharmacy residency, and the long-term benefits it has on their career (see Table 1).…”

“…[13][14][15][20][21][22][24][25][26] In the USA, the use of teaching certificate programs for pharmacy residents to gain the knowledge and competencies to deliver pharmacy education and refine their skills in teaching and mentoring has become a core component of residency training. 13,14,17,18,[20][21][22]26 Multiple studies have demonstrated the different teaching and education competencies that residents gain throughout pharmacy residency, and the long-term benefits it has on their career (see Table 1). As providing education and teaching is becoming more integrated in the work of pharmacists, studies suggest that residencies must work to standardise the teaching programs and provide residents with ample practical opportunities to gain exposure to these skills, such as through increased availability of teaching certificate programs or a specific precepted rotation.…”

“…Internationally, foundational pharmacy residents are regularly involved in providing a variety of different teaching activities, such as facilitating small and large lectures for pharmacy students, instructing classes, serving as preceptors and mentors to pharmacy students, and facilitating clinical examinations, amongst many other teaching and mentoring tasks 11,13–25 . Foundation pharmacy residency programs have improved residents’ competencies to deliver education and teaching, and to build the foundational skills in becoming strong mentors and preceptors when offered the adequate opportunities 13–15,20–22,24–26 . In the USA, the use of teaching certificate programs for pharmacy residents to gain the knowledge and competencies to deliver pharmacy education and refine their skills in teaching and mentoring has become a core component of residency training 13,14,17,18,20–22,26 .…”

“…Multiple studies examined how a structured residency teaching certificate improves a resident's comfort and confidence in conducting education; however, there was no framework to guide the resident on how to develop his or her education competencies. 13,14,17,18,[20][21][22]26 These findings suggest that structured teaching training should be considered for programs moving forward, if these skills are expected of residents at the time of program completion. The nature and amount of training required may differ between individuals but at this time is not yet known.…”

“…The research identified did not largely report on specific training that fosters effective educator skills within residents. Multiple studies examined how a structured residency teaching certificate improves a resident’s comfort and confidence in conducting education; however, there was no framework to guide the resident on how to develop his or her education competencies 13,14,17,18,20–22,26 . These findings suggest that structured teaching training should be considered for programs moving forward, if these skills are expected of residents at the time of program completion.…”