Abstract
Pharmacist shortages in rural communities underscore the need to focus on increasing the pipeline of pharmacists practicing rurally. Experiential placement in rural communities is one method to approach this challenge. Regional pharmacy campuses may facilitate rural experiential placements. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of a regional campus on the number of rural experiential placements. This retrospective analysis compared experiential student placements in the five-year periods before and after the addition of a regional school of pharmacy campus. Experiential placements in the designated time periods were compared with respect to numbers of overall pharmacy practice experiences, experiences in rural locations, and rural counties with rotation sites. The average distance to rural sites was also compared. Differences in rural experiential placements were not statistically different. The number of rural counties with pharmacy experiential placements grew from eight to twelve, and driving distance increased. While institution of a regional campus contributed to an increase in the number of rural counties with experiential placements, overall rural experiential placements did not statistically differ versus suburban placements. Additional inquiry into factors that affect rural placement is needed to influence strategies to develop and maintain rural experiential sites and consistently place students at those sites.
Highlights
Rural health care provider shortage is a global concern [1,2]
The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the number of experiential placements in the Western North Carolina (WNC) region of North Carolina, before and after the establishment of a regional campus in that area
This study describes the impact of the establishment of a regional school of pharmacy campus in North Carolina, United States of America (USA) on experiential placements
Summary
Rural health care provider shortage is a global concern [1,2]. The shortage of pharmacists in rural areas is compounded as rural pharmacies and hospitals close. Data from the Rural Policy Research Institute demonstrated a 16.1% decline in the number of rural pharmacies in the United States of America (USA) from 2003 to 2018, and 137 rural hospitals in the USA have closed from 2010 to 2021 [3,4]. Closure of smaller acute care sites or the loss of services in rural locations has been noted as a concern in Australia, Canada, Germany, and France [5]. Health professions schools, and public health agencies have striven to determine factors that may increase the supply and retention of rural healthcare workers [1,6,7]. One of the strategies suggested is to train students in rural practice sites [1]
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