An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience in Leadership Development

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Leadership Development
• Experiential Learning

Background:

• Traditional pharmacy curricula often lack dedicated leadership training.
• Developing leadership skills is crucial for advancing the pharmacy profession.
• Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) offer opportunities for specialized training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the creation and refinement of a leadership APPE.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of an experiential leadership APPE.
• To provide a model for implementing leadership training in Doctor of Pharmacy programs.

Main Methods:

• Development and iterative improvement of a leadership APPE over five years.
• Incorporation of diverse experiential activities like PhotoVoice, Mindfulness Retreat, and Olympic training.
• Collection of student feedback beyond standardized evaluations.

Main Results:

• Majority of students agreed with evaluation items, noting reinforcement of didactic content and career relevance.
• Key themes from qualitative feedback included gratitude, personal development, and enhanced connection.
• Experiential methods were effective in applying knowledge to future practice.

Conclusions:

• An elective leadership APPE can be successfully integrated into Doctor of Pharmacy curricula.
• The developed APPE provides a practical model for leadership education in pharmacy.
• Continuous refinement and experiential focus enhance the value of APPEs for leadership development.