The Profession of Pharmacy at a Crossroads for Advancement
The profession of pharmacy is at a crossroads for advancement and innovation opportunities.
The current state of the health care system is transitioning from treatment-based care to prevention and wellness. This transformation will afford pharmacists a more inclusive role as a part of the integrated healthcare team, providing their pharmaceutical expertise to optimize personalized medicine practices. Pharmacy school is a precursor to the career pathways taken after graduating from the program. Thus, it is essential that each curriculum prepares the students for real-life experience in all the different healthcare settings, including and focusing on those non-traditional roles of pharmacists that are peaking interests of more pharmacy students(3,5).
Based on statistics from 2022 reported by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), there are 140 accredited pharmacy schools in the U.S(1-2). Two pharmacy schools, Larkin University, and the University of California Irvine, are in candidate status.
Candidate status applies to new pharmacy programs that have students enrolled, but not yet a graduating class(2). All 25 accreditation standards have been met.
7 of the 140 accredited schools offer distance/online learning. First-time degree enrollment was at 57,375 for the fall semester in 2020, a 5.4% decrease compared to 2019. It has been reported that since 2013, enrollment into pharmacy schools has been on a downward trend nationwide, putting many programs in jeopardy of reducing enrollment or closing their doors entirely(4)(See Fig 1.). Even though there has been a downturn in enrollment, this was not always the case. From 2000-2012, there was an influx of pharmacy schools opening and a saturation of graduates entering the workforce. Though there are fewer pharmacy school applicants today in comparison, the job market continues to be competitive, and many opportunities require additional training and certification(3-4).
With a decline in the enrollment of pharmacy students, the pharmacy school curriculum is the focus to propel the current and future state of the pharmacists' role in healthcare(5). American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) has a Center for the Advancement of Pharmaceutical Education (CAPE), concentrating on advancing pharmacy school curricula and expanding pharmacists' scope of practice in collaboration with prescribers(2). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has five competencies that are expected to be obtained by all healthcare professionals during their didactic career(10):
Patient Care: Management, prevention, and treatment of acute and chronic illnesses(10)
Interprofessional Teams: Collaborate with other healthcare professionals across multiple healthcare settings(10)
Evidence-Based Practice: Utilizing well-designed studies and research to optimize decision-making in healthcare(9)
Quality Improvement: Incorporating all healthcare professionals as well as payers and patients to improve health outcomes, system performance, and professional development(8)
Informatics: Informatics is one of the competencies that is the opportunity for change and implementation in schools based on emerging clinical developments and the roles of practitioners.
While Pharmacy schools are excelling at most of those competencies, they are very much technical and skill-based but lack problem solving capabilities. One career path in which more students are intrigued by is the pathway of Management Consulting. The Management Consulting services provide a more strategic way of thinking, analyzing situations, and applying problem-solving skills to real world problems.
Premier Pharma Mentors, a management consulting program, has consolidated the 3 distinct skills that Pharmacy schools should consider including in their curriculum:
Learn to develop strategic frameworks that assist in creating an approach to solve complex problems
Learn how to navigate in ambiguous situations that don’t have a developed process to obtain a solution
Learn to tell a convincing story that is succinct, easily digestible, and can stand alone
These skills are not only beneficial for the non-traditional Management Consulting pathway, but for all possible pathways within the Pharmacy profession (i.e., Community; Hospital, Industry, etc.).
In conclusion, the didactic career of a pharmacist plays an essential role in the outcome of their career choice and pathway upon convocation. Traditional roles have historically been the focus of pharmacy schools' curricula; however, they need to be updated to optimize the ability to adapt to the transition of the healthcare system. Implementing problem-solving skills and learning to analyze ambiguous situations are transferable to any setting. Pharmacists having the ability to strategically solve problems as well as apply their pharmaceutical knowledge utilizing technology increases their competency and need as a healthcare team member(6).
Sources
3. Lebovitz, L., & Eddington, N. D. (2019, February 1). Trends in the pharmacist Workforce and Pharmacy Education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. https://www.ajpe.org/content/83/1/7051 Retrieved October 7, 2022.
5.Furbershaw, J. 3 challenges facing pharmacy schools-and how to meet them. EAB. (2021, September 16) https://eab.com/insights/blogs/adult-learner/3-challenges-facing-pharmacy-schools/ Retrieved October 10, 2022.
1.Academic Pharmacy's Vital Statistics. AACP. (2022, January). https://www.aacp.org/article/academic-pharmacys-vital-statistics#:~:text=Institutions%20and%20Programs,1%20school%20with%20precandidate%20status Retrieved October 10, 2022.
2.ACPE. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. (2016). https://www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf/Standards2016FINAL.pdf
https://www.acpe-accredit.org/pdf/Standards2016FINAL.pdf Retrieved October 7, 2022.
4.Dean, T. How many pharmacy schools in USA? 2022 - D-Rex pharmacy. D-Rex Pharmacy. (2022, September 4). https://www.drexrx.com/pharmacy/how-many-pharmacy-schools-in-usa.html Retrieved October 10, 2022.
10.Xu; Hicks-Roof; Hamadi, J. K. H. Older and wiser? the need to reexamine the impact of health professionals age and experience on competency-based practices. SAGE Journals. (2021, July 22). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34368438/ Retrieved October 12, 2022.
9.Toklu, H. Z. Promoting evidence-based practice in pharmacies. Integrated pharmacy research & practice. (2015, September 3).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5741015/ Retrieved October 12, 2022.
8.CMS. Quality Measurement and Quality Improvement. Measures Management Systems Menu. (2021, December 1). https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/MMS/Quality-Measure-and-Quality-Improvement- Retrieved October 11, 2022.
6.Deloitte. The Future of Pharmacy - Opportunities & Challenges: Deloitte Us. Deloitte United States. (2021, June 16). https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/life-sciences-and-health-care/articles/future-of-pharmacy-disruption-opportunities-challenges.html Retrieved October 10, 2022.
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