An advanced teaching certificate program for postgraduate year 2 residents

Abstract

The rationale, structure, and elements of a teaching certificate program for second-year pharmacy residents are described. Evidence suggests that postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) pharmacy residents generally have limited options for the continued development of their teaching skills after the completion of a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) teaching certificate program. To expand those options, the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy developed a program (implemented during the 2005-06 residency year and formalized during the 2010-11 residency year) of advanced teaching-skills development that allows PGY2 residents to build on the foundational skills acquired in its PGY1 teaching certificate program; the new program also has been adapted to meet the needs of incoming PGY2 residents who earned PGY1-level teaching certificates at other institutions. The teaching certificate program comprises eight modules of instruction in advanced topic areas (e.g., course coordination, grading, active learning, teaching with technology) designed to prepare PGY2 residents for future faculty and preceptor positions. Among other required and optional activities, residents in the PGY2 certificate program receive hands-on instruction in course-coordination duties through a shadowing experience, serve as preceptors to fourth-year pharmacy students under the guidance of the residency director, and redeliver refined versions of lectures originally presented as PGY1 residents. A teaching certificate program specifically designed for PGY2 residents has allowed participants to continue to develop and refine their teaching skills through learning activities beyond those provided in the PGY1 program.