PGY1 Pharmacy Resident
University of Maryland Medical Center
Post-graduate training for pharmacy students is competitive, and the match rate decreases every year. There are so many more residency candidates than there are residency spots in programs all over the country.1 Students are doing more and more every year to stand out to “match” to a position in a residency program. Because of this competition, some pharmacy schools across the country have developed a residency preparation curriculum to help guide interested and qualified students through their own “mini-residency” to increase their students’ success (and school match rates).
Developed in 2012, the first program of its kind is called the “Pharmacotherapy Scholars” at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.2 This program really set the precedence for residency preparation programs. Its curriculum includes first-choice clinical rotations at the UPMC health-system, intermittent clinical knowledge examinations, personal mentor advising, team-based mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, longitudinal research, and professional development sessions about various topics. Their overall residency match rate was 93% in the 64 students that enrolled and completed the program from fall 2013 to spring 2019. This program is an exceptional example of the Dick and Carey model. The instructional goal of this program was simply to achieve high match rates for fourth-year pharmacy students interested in residency. The performance objectives were updated with each clinical rotation and research meeting to ensure learners were reaching expectations and completing the required work. The intermittent clinical exams were the assessment instruments. Evaluations and feedback done after every rotation and every curriculum experience helped improve the program and refine it for the rest of the year and for future years. The program was developed in a linked approach, which is why its instructional methods of following the Dick and Carey model has led to this program’s success and for other pharmacy schools to adopt a similar approach. Since there were many steps of this program, feedback, and changes to the program as it was implemented, the Pittsburgh program aligns with the Dick and Carey model.
Another program that followed closely to the University of Pittsburgh was the University of Buffalo.3 When creating their program, they more closely followed the linear ADDIE model. Since this program was able to develop their model from other programs (such as the University of Pittsburgh), they offer many of the same components of the program, but the evaluation process occurs only at the end of the program at the University of Buffalo. This is indicative of the ADDIE model vs the Dick and Carey model. The ADDIE model has five phases, including analysis, design, develop, implement, and evaluate. The Buffalo program aligns with this closer than the Dick and Carey model due to the more linear approach to the program. This program also was very successful in their match rates at 91% vs the national average in the 60% range. Although the instructional methods differed between both programs, they had a similar end result.
In conclusion, instructional methods were very crucial to the development of these residency preparation programs at the two schools of pharmacy; however, although different methods were used, results were similar and the programs were successful. Both programs focused on the input, output, and design of the curriculum. However, the ADDIE model is more structured and evaluations are only done at the end, which can be disadvantage in newer programs. Meanwhile, the Dick and Carey model has evaluations at every phase. However, in pharmacy schools that are beginning residency preparation programs, I believe that the Dick and Carey model is a better initial choice. The evaluations at each part of the program and the many detailed steps will allow more acute changes to be made often, leading to a better overall experience for the program if obstacles were to arise. The ADDIE model would be a great choice after the program is established and overcomes any initial obstacles. This is an important conclusion; the instructional design and methods used to create a curriculum is not black and white.4 As future educators, we should keep this in mind when developing our own educational methods. There is no clear answer, but there can be many right ones. Choosing the right instructional design and methods is an individualized approach based on instructor preference and what aligns with the focus and the objectives of the course best.
References
1. National Matching Services, Inc. ASHP Match Statistics. https://www.natmatch.com/ashprmp/stats.html. Accessed October 24, 2021.
2. Coons J, Benedict N, Seybert A, et al. A Pharmacotherapy Scholars Program to Provide Intensive Training to Enhance Pharmacy Students’ Postgraduate Readiness. Am J Pharm Educ. 2019 Nov;83(9):7327.
3. Slazak E, Prescott G, Doloresco F, et al. Assessment of a Scholars Program Designed to Enhance Pharmacy Students’ Competitiveness for Postgraduate Residency Training. Am J Pharm Educ. 2020 Jul;84(7).
4. Khalil M, Elkhider I. Applying learning theories and instructional design models for effective instruction. Adv Phys Educ. 2016 Jun;40(2):147-156.
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