Incorporation of formal leadership activities into pharmacy residencies.

Abstract

Leadership is a professional obligation. A 2011 position statement from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) noted that “all pharmacists have a professional obligation to serve as leaders in the safe and effective use of medications” and that, furthermore, leadership is “not the exclusive responsibility of pharmacists who hold formal leadership roles or titles.”1 The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s 2008–09 Argus Commission report also supported leadership as a responsibility for all pharmacists.2 The report called for integration of leadership development throughout the continuum of pharmacy education, including pharmacy school and residency training. Additionally, Ivey and Farber3 noted, in our efforts to gain recognition of pharmacy as a clinical profession, the majority of resources are spent in clinical patient care activities, and more resources should be devoted to leadership training to attain the right balance in residency training. The revised ASHP postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) pharmacy residency accreditation standards emphasize leadership and management as constituting a required competency and focus area for residency training.4,5 Offering insights on why residency training should incorporate leadership development, White6 asserted that all pharmacists are leaders, whether they are “big L” leaders in formal leadership positions or “little L” leaders in their own practice. Thus, it is imperative that residency program directors and preceptors address gaps in both the clinical and leadership skills of residents. Potential challenges to the incorporation or expansion of leadership training in residency programs include the time and capacity demands involved in adding these experiences into an already packed residency program, a perceived lack of importance or lack of prioritization of leadership training among preceptors or residents, and a lack of investment or “buy-in” from executive leadership. The goal of this article is to provide a practical approach for incorporating or expanding leadership training into a residency program.