Assessing opportunities for student pharmacist leadership development at schools of pharmacy in the United States

Abstract

Objective. To summarize student pharmacist leadership development opportunities delivered by pharmacy programs, to describe selected opportunities, and to assess how these opportunities meet leadership development competencies. Methods. A multi-method study was conducted that comprised a systematic content analysis of pharmacy education journals, pharmacy program websites, and telephone interviews with key informants, which included open-ended questions and scaled responses. Results. Review of six articles, 37 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting abstracts, and 138 websites resulted in the identification of 191 leadership development opportunities. These consisted of courses, projects/programs, and events/speaker series. Interviews with 12 key informants detailed unique events that developed leadership competencies. Formal assessments of student leadership development were limited and primarily focused on informal feedback and course evaluations. Conclusion. Most US pharmacy programs offer their students an array of opportunities to develop leadership abilities. Pharmacy programs should consider expanding opportunities beyond elective courses, learn from the successes of others to implement new leadership development opportunities, and bolster the assessment of student leadership competencies and outcomes.