Abstract
Keywords
Increasing Pharmacy Resident Diversity Through Targeted Recruitment Efforts
Training diverse pharmacy residents, especially those who are underrepresented in medicine, is imperative to provide high-quality patient care for the communities that are served. Recently, the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) established a task force to ensure racial diversity, equity, and inclusion as it relates to the Society’s governance, committees, education and training, research, advocacy, marketing and communications, and publications. 1 In parallel, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has sanctioned efforts to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. 2 However, implementation of these efforts and availability of long-term data on programs’ efforts remain elusive.
Annual statistics on degrees conferred (baccalaureate in pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy) from U.S. Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy demonstrates diminutive shifts in ethnic diversity as it relates to Black/African American (3.4% in 1980 and 8.5% in 2019) or Hispanic/Latinx (3.7% in 1980 to 5.7% in 2019) graduates. 3 Although there is no database for pharmacy resident applicants and graduates, one may speculate that the composition is relatively similar based on the above data.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) Pharmacy Residency Programs have recently undertaken an effort to increase both geographic and racial diversity among residency candidates to create a more equitable recruitment process. Baseline data from 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 recruitment cycles indicated that NYPH recruited post graduate year 1 pharmacy residents from 50 distinct different schools each academic year. This data largely reflects the standard recruitment process during these years, including attendance at the annual ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting Showcase and approximately six residency showcases in states surrounding New York. Cancellation of in-person meetings due to the coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic afforded us an opportunity to reimagine our approach to residency recruitment, which in turn naturally broadened outreach and increased geographic diversity.
In an attempt to increase geographical diversity, in addition to attending regional showcases, we contacted Schools of Pharmacy throughout the country and offered an invitation to virtual general informational sessions, a private recruitment session, or an offer for participation in their local residency showcase. Selection of schools was largely based on preceptors and residents that were alumni and/or had a personal contact. In an attempt to increase racial diversity, additional efforts were placed on outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) with a School of Pharmacy. Our recruitment sessions included a welcome message from the Vice President of Pharmacy, a brief overview of hospital and the residency program, followed by an open forum for questions led by the program’s preceptors and current residents. The open forum focused on learning opportunities, research and other longitudinal experiences, and insight to life as a resident at NYPH and living in New York City. These virtual sessions afforded increased face time with our residents, preceptors, and program directors, which is not often feasible at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.
Each recruitment session varied in size, with a range of 15-45 attendees, depending on the format (general information session or targeted school recruitment). Compared to 2019 and 2020, NYPH experienced a 14% increase in distinct Schools of Pharmacy represented within the applicant pool. Additionally, applicants from Schools of Pharmacy outside of the New York region increased by 33%. This increase also included expanded representation from applicants who attended HBCUs. Of interest, despite an increase in distinct Schools of Pharmacy our total applicant numbers were similar year-to-year, thus achieving our goal of increasing geographic diversity. Despite initial apprehensions and concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic would negatively affect the quantity of our applicants, our revised recruitment approach through virtual platforms increased outreach across the country.
Although our program experienced significant expansion in geographic diversity among our applicant pool, we identified limitations and subsequent opportunities to optimize efforts to further increase diversity in the future. Outreach and advertisement of recruitment sessions was often difficult, with no central database from which to provide the information. Acknowledging no single advertisement method would be sufficient, we used residency directories, our pharmacy residency website, and social media to promote these sessions. While we directed outreach to Schools of Pharmacy from which NYPH preceptors had relationships with, a centralized advertising method would allow for unrestricted outreach and inclusion.
Lastly, the ethnic composition of pharmacy resident applicants among most programs in the United States most likely reflects that published by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, 3 reflecting the need to improve diversity within Schools of Pharmacy. Increasing awareness of the pharmacy profession and pharmacy residencies at the high school and undergraduate levels may be an opportunity to develop equitable and inclusive recruitment practices.
