Description of an academic teaching rotation for postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residents

An elective rotation specifically designed to prepare postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residents for careers in academia is described, with insights on challenges faced and benefits gained during the first offering of the rotation.

Through a collaboration of the University of Florida (UF) college of pharmacy's St. Petersburg campus and the community-based Lee Memorial Hospital (LMH), a four-week elective rotation was incorporated into an existing PGY1 pharmacy residency program to provide trainees with structured and intensive exposure to the three basic components of a career in academia: teaching, service, and scholarship. Designed to expand on knowledge and skills acquired in a PGY1 teaching certificate program, the academic teaching rotation comprised a variety of experiences, including (1) daily participation in several large- and small-group teaching activities, (2) opportunities for participation in admission interviews of prospective college of pharmacy students and other service activities, and (3) independent scholarship activities such as the preparation of an article suitable for publication in the professional literature. Recent data indicate that nearly 33% of vacant teaching positions at U.S. schools of pharmacy remained unfilled during the 2009-10 academic year due to a lack of qualified candidates. Broader implementation of formal teaching rotations such as the UF-LMH program could help address the faculty staffing shortfall.

An academic teaching rotation can provide a PGY1 pharmacy resident with experiences in teaching, service, and scholarly activities beyond those typically offered in residency programs.