Leadership Development of Student Pharmacists

Victoria Zhu, PharmD

PGY1 Community Pharmacy Resident 

Safeway Pharmacy / University of Maryland 

Student pharmacists are well prepared to be great clinicians during their schooling with lectures and cases concerning therapeutics and pharmacology. When students graduate, they are the drug experts; however, when it comes to running and managing a pharmacy, this is where they may feel uncertain and unprepared. When students graduate and move into their new positions as pharmacists, they will be charged with managing and leading the entire team, whether it is in the community, inpatient, or ambulatory care setting. Pharmacy schools do very well with preparing students to be great clinicians, but they have a lot of room for improvement in preparing students for real-world work environments. Leadership and management training should be a mandatory part of the pharmacy curriculum, especially in experiential learning experiences. 

What is currently being done in pharmacy schools to prepare students to be future leaders? 

The current 2016 ACPE Accreditation Standards for Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy include leadership as one of the key elements for personal and professional development, along with self-awareness, innovation and entrepreneurship, and professionalism. The Standards define leadership as “…responsibility for creating and achieving shared goals, regardless of position.”3 Pharmacy schools acknowledge that leadership skills are important, so they encourage students to join pharmacy organizations and hold leadership roles. However, not all students will serve in a leadership position, and there are not enough leadership positions for each and every student. Many schools offer electives in leadership, which include courses such as “Pharmacist-In-Charge” or “Leading Change in Pharmacy.”4 Nonetheless, these courses are optional, so students are only able to benefit from these courses if they choose to enroll in them. During the last year of schooling, in a series of rotations termed advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), students shadow licensed pharmacists in a variety of practice settings. A recent survey of colleges and schools of pharmacy found that 75% of APPEs included leadership and/or advocacy in their learning objectives. However, the time that was devoted to these objectives varied.6

What can pharmacy schools do to ensure their students are learning how to be effective leaders? 

There are many different ways that Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy can include leadership development. To start off, leadership skills can be included in each year of the curriculum. Students can learn what good leadership looks like in a classroom setting, then use the opportunity to observe and practice during their APPE rotations, and finally reflect upon their knowledge and experiences to learn and grow. In addition, during each APPE rotation, students can be encouraged to have a discussion with their preceptor on several leadership topics, such as leadership/management styles, how to handle workplace conflicts, finding mentors, and their role in professional pharmacy organizations. We can conclude these discussions at the end of the year by instructing students to write a self-reflection on leadership and management. Schools can also encourage leadership development by facilitating the development of more student pharmacist-led organizations, and formation of mentorship programs. Mentorship programs will give students in later years an opportunity to practice a variety of leadership skills, such as giving feedback, educating and teaching, and setting a good example for others. These are just a few suggestions for incorporating leadership development into the training of student pharmacists. No matter what, if we wish to create effective leaders in the workplace and the pharmacy profession, we must strive to make leadership development a priority in pharmacy curriculum. 

1. Bradley-Baker LR, Murphy NL. Leadership Development of Student Pharmacists. Am J Pharm Educ [Internet]. 2013 Dec 16;77(10). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3872938/

2. Boyle CJ, Robinson ET. Leadership is Not a Soft Skill. Am J Pharm Educ [Internet]. 2013 Dec 16;77(10). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3872928/ 

3. ACPE. Guidance for the accreditation standards and key elements for the professional program in pharmacy leading to the doctor of pharmacy degree. Guidance for Standards 2016. https://www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf/GuidanceforStandards2016FINAL.pdf. Accessed November 9, 2018.

4. Sorensen TD, Traynor AP, Janke KK. A Pharmacy Course on Leadership and Leading Change. Am J Pharm Educ [Internet]. 2009 Apr 7;73(2). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690896/

5. Williams CR, McLaughlin J, Leadon K, Khanova J, Rodgers PT. Preceptor confidence and engagement in providing leadership activities to students in advanced pharmacy practice experiences. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 2018 Jul 1;10(7):895–902.

6. Ross LA, Janke KK, Boyle CJ, Gianutsos G, Lindsey CC, Moczygemba LR, et al. Preparation of Faculty Members and Students to Be Citizen Leaders and Pharmacy Advocates. Am J Pharm Educ. 2013 Dec 1;77(10):220.