Landscape of board certification preparation in pharmacy residency programs

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionBoard certification among pharmacists is increasing in prevalence, accompanying expanded practice opportunities and exam availability to broader specialty areas. Residency training is one common prerequisite for board certification. Although there are documented benefits, board certification preparation (BCP) has yet to be evaluated among the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)‐accredited residency programs.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to determine the status of BCP among ASHP‐accredited residency programs and corresponding attitudes of residency program directors (RPDs) regarding BCP.MethodsThis study is a mixed methods cross‐sectional survey of RPDs from United States (US) states. Eligible RPDs were identified through the ASHP residency directory. A 33‐item survey was developed in REDCap® and distributed via email. Those with missing or invalid emails were excluded. The survey was open for 6 weeks and responses were anonymous. Descriptive statistics were applied for data evaluation.ResultsOf the 1601 RPDs emailed, 360 survey responses were received, a 23.3% response rate when excluding invalid email addresses. Among the survey respondents, 313 (86.9%) were board certified. Respondents served as RPDs of Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) (175, 48.6%) or Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) (177, 49.2%) programs. Structured BCP was offered by 33 (9.2%) programs and 49 (13.6%) financially support residents' BCP. Among programs that offer structured preparation, 12 (36.4%) use institution‐specific materials. Among programs that do not currently offer BCP, 142 (57.3%) indicated they were “somewhat” or “very” interested in implementation, identifying the top barriers as cost and time.ConclusionsA small proportion of programs offer structured BCP, although interest appears high among RPDs to consider implementation. The likelihood of implementation would presumably increase if associated barriers were addressed. Further qualitative evaluation may assist interested programs in efficient, cost‐effective implementation of BCP through institution‐specific or commercially available products.