An Educational Program for Underserved Middle School Students to Encourage Pursuit of Pharmacy and Other Health Science Careers

Building the PharmD Pipeline With a Pre-Pharmacy Track for Working Adults Marketed to Pharmacy Technicians

OBJECTIVE

To describe the activities undertaken at Mercer University (MU) to establish a complete pre-pharmacy curriculum for working adults and market the program to pharmacy technicians in metropolitan Atlanta. To document post-implementation, the yield of students to the pre-pharmacy program and subsequent yield of Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students to the MU College of Pharmacy.

METHODS

The level of retrospective interest in the pre-pharmacy program was measured by a survey questionnaire administered to MU PharmD students who had completed their pre-pharmacy courses in metropolitan Atlanta colleges and universities. A traditional marketing funnel approach was used to achieve awareness, interest, desire, and action in the target market: metropolitan Atlanta pharmacy technicians. The pre-pharmacy program was established as a curricular track within the MU College of Professional Advancement for working adults. Enrollment and matriculant data were reported using frequency counts.

RESULTS

A total of 185 pre-pharmacy program matriculants from the Spring semester 2019 through the Summer semester 2023 accounted for 1222 pre-pharmacy course enrollments. Of these students, 38 applied for the PharmD program at the MU College of Pharmacy, and 27 were accepted and matriculated.

CONCLUSION

Offering a pre-pharmacy track for working adults marketed to pharmacy technicians is one potential avenue for building the pipeline to pharmacy school while adding to the overall enrollment of the university.

Evaluation of a Pharmacy Summer Camp to Recruit Students to the Field of Pharmacy

OBJECTIVE

A 3-day pharmacy summer camp for high school and college students was implemented, which included active learning and information on the pharmacy curriculum, preparatory coursework, and the university community. The program served as a recruitment tool for participants to enter the pharmacy profession and our Doctor of Pharmacy program. Enrollment data from 4 cohorts (2016-2019) were examined, along with assessment data collected from 1 cohort (summer 2022).

METHODS

Enrollment data were collected for the 194 participants from 2016 to 2019 to examine the number that applied to the university and to a pharmacy program. All participants from the summer 2022 cohort (n = 55) were asked to complete a knowledge assessment and survey after camp completion. The knowledge assessment contained items related to content covered in the camp. The survey used a self-report retrospective pre-and-post format to assess self-efficacy, and career and degree intentions. In addition, there were items asking participants to evaluate the camp, including 2 open-ended items.

RESULTS

Data show that overall, 33% of past participants enrolled at the University at Buffalo, and 15% enrolled or intended to enroll in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. There were 50 respondents to the evaluation survey (91% response rate). Scores on the knowledge assessment suggested participants understood the content. There were statistically significant increases from pre to post on the self-efficacy and intentions scales with the largest change in intentions to pursue a career in pharmacy and to pursue a degree in pharmacy at this university. On the evaluation, 90% agreed that they would recommend the camp to other students interested in pharmacy. Of the 30 comments regarding changes to improve the camp, 17 (57%) were related to including more interactive activities.

CONCLUSION

Students who participated in a pharmacy hands-on educational camp demonstrated knowledge of and increased interest in the pharmacy profession.

An intensive summer pipeline program for pre-pharmacy students to increase underrepresented minority matriculation to pharmacy school

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

To describe the Summer Academic Enrichment Program (SAEP) for underrepresented minority (URM) matriculants at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING

The SAEP is a six-week summer pipeline program at VCU for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students interested in applying to medical, dental, physical therapy, or pharmacy school, divided into school tracks. Demographic and matriculation information about the pharmacy track program participants was obtained from the program and school administration from inception in 2012 through 2019. A retrospective analysis of the impact of SAEP on URM matriculation at VCU School of Pharmacy was conducted.

FINDINGS

Of the 80 pharmacy track participants, 56.3% (n = 45) have enrolled at VCU School of Pharmacy. Among those 45 that matriculated, 33.3% (n = 15) identified as one or more of the following URM populations: Black or African American 28.9% (n = 13), Hispanic or Latinx 4.4% (n = 2), and American Indian 2.2% (n = 1). In comparison, the same URM classifications for students enrolled at VCU School of Pharmacy over the last nine years ranged from 5% to 11% Black or African American, 0% to 5% Hispanic or Latinx, and 0% to 2% American Indian with a total URM representation range of 7% to 25% during this timeframe.

SUMMARY

SAEP is a program utilized to increase matriculation of students from diverse backgrounds, including URM populations. This type of pipeline program is described as one way to improve URM representation.

Evaluation of a Process by which Individual Interest Supports Learning within a Formal Middle School Classroom Context

The affective domain and its impact on science achievement has been studied with increasing attention over the past decade. However, there has been little empirical work on how individual interest, and facilitation of situational interest in the classroom, facilitates learning of concepts within fine-grained units of instruction. Drawing upon previous theoretical and empirical work, we test the hypothesis that individual interest facilitates situational interest, and that this in turn facilitates content learning, with respect to a 10-day health education intervention focused on teaching middle school students about light, color and vision. We found that individual interest in science facilitates situational interest in the classroom activities and the teacher's instruction, and that situational interest has a positive and significant effect on learning concepts related to light and vision. Our data suggest that facilitating situational interest is a requirement if individual interest and prior knowledge are to be effective scaffolds for conceptual learning. However, targeting of other affective traits like motivation and engagement or cognitive processes like goal setting may be necessary to fully harness students' interest toward effective scaffolding of learning.

A Task Force on Recruitment, Admissions, and Retention to Improve Pharmacy College Admissions Outcomes

Objective. To create a task force on recruitment, admission, and retention, and assess pharmacy students' opinions and perceived value of the initiatives implemented. Methods. A task force on recruitment, admission, and retention was created at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy to build relationships between the college and incoming students and improve the admissions process. Admission and retention initiatives were implemented over a three-year period. All applicants who received an offer of admission, whether they accepted or declined, were invited to complete an online survey designed to solicit feedback on the admissions and retention initiatives. Results. The response rate to the survey was 80.3% in 2016 and 85.7% in 2017. The majority of students who responded reported that the admission and retention initiatives were helpful with regard to building connections with the college of pharmacy. In the three years after the task force implemented the admissions and retention initiatives, the admission yield (total number of students who accepted admission divided by the number offered admission) increased from 72.5% in 2015 to 79.5% in 2016 and 81.9% in 2017. Conclusion. Development of a task force specifically aimed to build relationships with students accepted to the college through strategic initiatives was instrumental in increasing admission yield and reducing the number of applicants who initially accepted an offer of admission and then chose not to attend the college.

Trends in and Barriers to Enrollment of Underrepresented Minority Students in a Pharmacy School

Objective. To compare the mean national enrollment rates of underrepresented minority (URM) students in a pharmacy school with mean rates in California pharmacy schools, and identify barriers faced by URM students during the application process. Methods. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) enrollment data from 2005 to 2014 were used to compare the demographics of California pharmacy schools with the average enrollment of URM students in pharmacy schools nationally. A survey was administered to students in the 2017 and 2018 classes at Touro University California College of Pharmacy to identify common barriers that students faced in pursuing pharmacy education. Results. The average enrollment of URM in pharmacy programs nationally was 12.3% in 2005, compared to 12.4% in 2014. The average enrollment of URM in California pharmacy schools was 9.4% in 2005 compared to 8.5% in 2014. The top barriers to pursuing pharmacy education that students reported included the cost of tuition (43.4%), prerequisite requirements (36.9%), and obtaining letters of recommendation (32.3%). Conclusion. The average enrollment of URM students in pharmacy schools nationally has remained higher than that in California pharmacy schools across the years studied. California pharmacy programs should develop strategies to alleviate the barriers identified and further diversify pharmacy education.

Report of the 2016-2017 Student Affairs Standing Committee

The 2016-2017 AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee addressed charges related to recruitment to the profession of pharmacy and a national awareness campaign for pharmacy careers, as well as promotion of student wellness and stress management. The Committee report provides six recommendations to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and one proposed policy statement for the AACP House of Delegates related to recruitment to the pharmacy profession. The Committee report also provides three recommendations to AACP and one proposed policy statement for the AACP House of Delegates related to student wellness and stress management. In addition, this report provides recommendations for future AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee work.

Multilevel Assessment of Middle School Students' Interest in the Health Sciences: Development and Validation of a New Measurement Tool

Using the context of a 2-wk instructional unit focused on eye and vision health, we developed and validated a multilevel measure of middle school students' interest in science and health careers. This survey contained three subscales positioned differently with respect to curricular content. Interest in Vision Care was most related, but less transferrable to other contexts. Interest in Science was most general, and Interest in Healthcare was positioned between the two. We found that, with two exceptions, items fitted well with validity expectations and were stable across a 2-wk intervention. Further, measures of interest in science, health, and vision-care careers were shown to be reliable and valid. We found that ease of facilitating change across the intervention was generally greater in subscales closely related to the curricular context but that the average magnitude of change in Interest in Healthcare and Interest in Science was not significantly different. We discuss use of these measures in informing instructional efforts and advise that changes in students' perceptions of how science and healthcare relate should be considered in longitudinal analyses.