First-year residency candidates' experience in various areas of pharmacy practice

To determine the extent of experience or exposure pharmacy residency candidates had in various areas of hospital pharmacy practice and to identify any candidate-specific variables that correlated with a larger extent of experience.

Over a 3-year period, a self-assessment survey instrument was administered to 116 postgraduate first-year (PGY1) pharmacy practice residency candidates to evaluate their extent of experience within various areas of hospital pharmacy practice such as patient care activities, drug information, and drug distribution/control.

The residency candidates reported the greatest amount of experience in patient counseling, working with pharmacy databases, taking medication histories, pharmacokinetics, and outpatient dispensing procedures. They had less experience with medical emergencies, parenteral nutrition, and intravenous admixture techniques. Overall, there was no correlation between class rank, advanced pharmacy practice experiences, geographic region, or year of interview and the extent of candidates' experience in any specific area of pharmacy.

PGY1 residency candidates in this sample reported minimal experience in areas necessary for hospital pharmacy practice and this suggests possible deficiencies in the PharmD curriculum. PGY1 residency programs in acute care settings should recognize these educational deficits and assure that residents have exposure to and develop proficiency in critical areas such as medical emergencies, parenteral nutrition, and intravenous admixture techniques.