Community pharmacy residency programs, 1997-1998

To obtain a descriptive "snapshot" of community pharmacy residency programs active in 1997-1998.

Survey (telephone interview) of community pharmacy residency program directors.

An advance letter to residency directors stated the purpose of the study and requested written information on their residency program. Using a scripted questionnaire, telephone interviews were conducted with each residency director.

Descriptive statistics were used to portray the data. There were 13 active community pharmacy residency programs with 20 filled residency sites nationwide at the time of the study. Results revealed that 9 (69%) programs were funded by multiple sources, 3 programs were funded solely by the affiliated college, and 1 program was funded solely by the affiliated pharmacy. Of the 10 residency programs that had been in existence for longer than 1 year, 7 (70%) had the same funding source as they did the first year. Respondents provided descriptions of the residency programs, along with insight into the challenges of creating such programs. At the time of publication (November 1999), there were 50 active community residency sites within the 21 active community pharmacy residency programs. Several other programs are planned for implementation in July 2000.

In general, community pharmacy residency programs continue to grow in number, and funding has been sustained due to the programs' successful outcomes. The results of this study provide a framework for the improvement of existing community pharmacy residency programs and the development of additional ones.