Effect of postgraduate training on the careers of University of California Pharm.D. graduates

Abstract

Graduates of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) doctor of pharmacy degree program were surveyed to determine the effect of postgraduate pharmacy residency or fellowship training on the professional outcomes of these graduates. In 1982, a 39-item questionnaire was sent to 1061 UCSF School of Pharmacy alumni who had graduated in the years 1970 through 1981. The survey addressed several issues, including the graduates' general attitudes toward the profession of pharmacy, their practice patterns, and their professional activities. The response rate of the survey was 72%. Of the survey respondents, 30% had completed or were currently involved in a residency or fellowship program. Both postgraduates (PGs) and non-postgraduates (NPGs) indicated an overall satisfaction with life and the pharmacy profession as a whole. A greater fraction of PGs than NPGs worked in the hospital setting and held positions with varied job components (i.e., clinical, managerial, teaching, and operational activities). First-position salaries for both groups were the same regardless of postgraduate training status. Gender, rather than postgraduate status, was the major determinant of annual changes in salary, especially among men PGs. For managers, both men PGs and men NPGs had a greater change in mean salary per year of experience than their women counterparts. Of those graduates who did not hold management positions, men had a greater change in mean salary per year of experience than women. PGs had greater involvement in professional, educational, and publication activities than NPGs, and a smaller percentage of PGs than NPGs left the profession.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)