Academic Pharmacy Fellowship Programs are an Innovative Solution to Improve the Faculty Pipeline

Academic pharmacy fellowship programs can offer an innovative training solution to help prepare pharmacists for successful careers as clinical faculty members. However, there is no well-defined program blueprint or recommendations for what a successful program should include. This commentary describes the program overview for the academic pharmacy fellowship at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy and discusses the implications of incorporating a similar program at a college of pharmacy. The purpose of the fellowship program is to prepare pharmacists for a career in pharmacy education through training in teaching, curriculum development, college service, mentoring, scholarship, and clinical practice. A structured program with monthly rotations in key academic areas, teaching experience and mentorship (didactics and skills labs), committee service, and leading a research project make up the core structure of the program. These experiences, coupled with significant student interaction, can prepare fellowship graduates to transition effectively into clinical faculty roles.