Increasing Scholarship in Pharmacy Residency Programs

To the Editor:

I would like to join the conversation surrounding the topic of pharmacy resident publications, with recent contributions from Eitzen and Jarrett, and also Seabury et al.^1,2 The most recent commentary focused on the opinions of the latter that “targeting a resident publication rate of 50% or higher is a challenging and admirable goal” which they believe is achievable, and that “it is the role of a preceptor to encourage pharmacy residents to attempt to achieve ‘nearly unattainable’ goals.” ²

While I agree that preceptors ought to encourage residents, it is of no less importance that they be able to guide and coach residents as well. However if publication rates for residents are low, one might reasonably wonder whether preceptor publication rates are also low. Presently, many preceptors have themselves been former residents, but as noted by Hasegawa, the low submission rate for full-length manuscript publications detailing residency projects may be due to the belief that there is little chance of publication. If the preceptors themselves did not have the wherewithal to pursue publication when they themselves were residents, how can they in turn provide this guidance as preceptors? Thus, the goal of increased resident publishing may be difficult to achieve without experienced guidance. ³

Additionally, there are some difficulties that present themselves as barriers to publication from residency programs:

• The timeline to publication involves the planning of the project and review from IRB.

• The resident’s project must necessarily be less than 1 year in duration—this may limit the amount of data they are able to procure.

• Once the resident graduates, if they depart from the organization, they may lose their access to the data.

• Post-residency career changes and the lack of a setting of mentorship and structured deadlines may remove sources of extrinsic motivation.

• Departure from the organization presents communication barriers due to distance and increased scheduling conflicts.

While statistics are indeed vital to good scholarship, ⁴ residents need additional training and guidance beyond this. If a program has a strong desire for scholarship among its residents, my suggestion is that it first pursue scholarship among its preceptors, who in turn will be equipped to shepherd the residents through the process of publication. As Hasegawa wisely noted in 2012,

“If publication is a real expectation or aspiration, then projects should be designed from the start to be publishable, with novelty and scientific rigor receiving high priority.” ⁵

I believe that the vast majority of resident projects are worthy of publication, and indeed on many occasions have found myself wishing that a poster or abstract had been published in much greater detail. Resident projects are a wealth of knowledge that should be shared freely. My own colleagues and I eagerly review ASHP Midyear Posters and abstracts, often reaching out to authors directly to inquire further for more information—if only these were published in full!

In closing, I offer a few suggestions to any program desiring to increase its publications and the robustness of its academic standing:

• Develop strong relationships with local colleges of pharmacy.

• Encourage scholarship among preceptors through academic relationships with universities and pursue preceptor development in research and publication.

• If the institution has preceptors who are experienced in research and publication, utilize them as mentors.

• Develop structured timelines for resident project, IRB submission, data collection, data analysis, and publication.

• Set in place expectations for communication and deadlines for manuscript reviews if the writing phase must take place after the resident graduates and leaves the institution.

• Set expectations for residents to publish.

I wholeheartedly echo the comments of our colleagues who view scholarship among pharmacy residency programs to be both desirable and attainable,^2,4,5 and hope that my comments will further offer a useful perspective.