Relationships between colleges of pharmacy and academic medical centers

The nature of the relationships between academic medical centers and colleges of pharmacy, particularly in respect to experiential education, was studied.

A 22-item questionnaire was developed to assess the extent and type of student experiences academic medical centers offered, the presence of a contractual agreement, satisfaction level, role of pharmacy staff and residents, and perceived value of the relationship. The questionnaire was distributed electronically to pharmacy directors at 90 University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) academic medical centers, with subsequent responses analyzed with descriptive statistics.

The response rate was 52% (n = 47), representing a broad geographic distribution of UHC members. All academic medical centers reported having a relationship with at least one college of pharmacy. The mean number of academic affiliations for each respondent was 2.4. The majority of medical centers were satisfied with these relationships. All academic medical centers provided fourth-year pharmacy student clerkship training, with 20% and 27% offering experiential activities for second- and third-year students, respectively. Compensation from colleges of pharmacy for practice-based education was typically directed to the pharmacy department, with a mean of $500 per rotation. The majority of medical centers also trained pharmacy residents, with 62% of these engaging the residents in student experiential education. The most common motivations for offering student experiential education were fulfilling professional responsibility, developing future employees, and financial compensation.

While relationships between academic medical centers and colleges of pharmacy were generally positive, the growing need for early experiential education sites, increased class sizes, and shortage of qualified preceptors necessitate a reexamination of the relationships to ensure that they continue to benefit both parties.