Oncology pharmacy education and training in the United States Schools of Pharmacy

Abstract

Objectives(1) To assess the number of hours devoted to oncology education in both the didactic and experiential rotations; (2) to further identify the specific oncology topics that are offered in pathophysiology, pharmacology, and pharmacotherapy; and (3) to delineate activities that are required of students during their experiential activities. MethodsSurveys were sent to Chairs or Associate Chairs of Clinical Departments of 131 pharmacy schools. Qualtrics Survey Software was utilized to administer the survey. ResultsOverall, 62 schools responded for a 47% response rate. All schools reported teaching oncology in the didactic portion of its curriculum and nearly all schools (92%) offered Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) electives in oncology. Most schools (64%) incorporated pharmacotherapy into a block of lectures during a general therapeutics course, while 34% of schools taught it as an individual required course. We found that the median number of hours spent on didactic oncology coursework was 42 hours. The median number of hours spent teaching oncology pathophysiology, pharmacology, and pharmacotherapy was 10, 9, and 20 hours, respectively. About 73% offered fewer than 30 oncology APPE rotation slots to students each year. Schools established more than 15 years ago offered a median of 30 slots compared to 16 slots for schools <7 years old. A median of 15% of students took a required or an elective APPE oncology rotation annually, lasting four to six weeks. With the median school size of 100 students, about 30% of a class was exposed to an oncology experience. ConclusionsThese results expand upon the prior recommendations about the amount of didactics and the types of oncology practice experiences offered to students attending pharmacy school. We recommend that 40 hours of didactics and four to six weeks of experiential rotations be the minimum standard that pharmacy schools provide as oncology education.