Developing Teaching Skills during the Pharmacy Practice Residency Program: Limitations

There are many limitations to the research described in this report. First, the built-in limitations of nonvalidated surveys, such as the potential for responder bias, the lack of demonstrable tool reliability, and the possibility of questions being misinterpreted, may have contributed to inaccuracies in the data. Second, some of the data collected relates only to BC programs; also, only the coordinators of Canadian programs that had been matched with residents as of March 2004 were surveyed. Including graduates of programs outside of British Columbia and coordinators of accredited residency programs that do not participate in the match (e.g., those in Quebec) might have altered the results. Finally, data collected in the survey of recent graduates was based on participant recall; for some respondents, 2 years had elapsed between graduation from the program and completion of the survey, which might have led to lapses in memory.Despite these limitations, the research reported here should serve as a springboard for a further look at the issue of addressing teaching skills in the residency program. As it is, the residency program is a complex interplay between competing priorities and goals. This interplay needs to be discussed if the development of teaching and precepting skills and job readiness are to be improved. The fundamental issue is who should ultimately be charged with the responsibility of providing residents (and, for that matter, new pharmacists entering the profession) with the teaching and precepting skills they will need to successfully perform their duties upon entry to practice. The value of a national debate on this issue is unquestionable.
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Next Steps

There is no straightforward solution to the dilemma of whether to invest time and resources into creating new activities for residents or more skill development programs for pharmacists new to practice, such as preceptor workshops (and if so, how to do so). A discussion forum should be undertaken to address the pros and cons of targeting these skills during the residency program versus during undergraduate training or upon graduation from any program. Such dialogue should include all potential stakeholders: CHPRB, residency program coordinators, graduates from the program, faculties of pharmacy, and licensing bodies. Regardless of whether consensus on this controversial issue is reached, such a forum may provide the basis on which to build strategies for improving all residency programs, as much learning is achieved when programs can share with others their successes and challenges alike.

Category: Main

Tags: residency program, survey, teaching skills