Hannah Meister, Lauren Lewicki�Epsilon Xi Chapter at the University of Saint Joseph, School of Pharmacy and Physician Assistant Studies
MENTORSHIP: INSPIRING FUTURE PHARMACISTS
INTRODUCTION
- Since 2017, there has been a 20% decrease in applicants applying to PharmD programs.1
- Schools of pharmacy target recruitment efforts at the undergraduate level, leaving high school students interested in pursuing pharmacy without proper pre-pharmacy advising.2,3
- Non pre-pharmacy students have little knowledge of the pharmacy profession, suggesting more students would be interested in the field of pharmacy if provided information on the profession.4
- Our Epsilon Xi Chapter aimed to fill the void in high school pre-pharmacy career mentorship by teaching students about careers in pharmacy.
REFRENCES
1. Brown DL. Years of rampant expansion have imposed darwinian survival-of-the-fittest conditions on US pharmacy schools. AJPE. 2020;84(10). doi:10.5688/ajpe8136
2. McLaughlin JE, Bush AA, Friedman AD, Lai SK. Immersive research experiences for high school students aimed at promoting diversity and visibility in pharmacy education. AJPE. 2020;84(3). doi:10.5688/ajpe7589
3. Myers TL, DeHart RM, Dunn EB, Gardner SF. A summer pharmacy camp for high school students as a pharmacy student recruitment tool. AJPE. 2012;76(4):60. doi:10.5688/ajpe76460
4. Pruitt S, Darley A, Dennison E. Increasing the PharmD pipeline, encouraging student success, and supporting the underserved through pre-pharmacy advising. AJPE. 2023;87(2). doi:10.5688/ajpe8854
5. Who we are. Central Area Health Education Center, Inc. 2016. Accessed June 9, 2023. https://www.centralctahec.org
METHODS
- We partnered with Connecticut Area Health Education Center (AHEC) and volunteered under their Collegiate Health Services Corps (CHSC) division. AHEC is a private, non-profit 501 community-based organization. The CHSC division is designed to academically and socially support students who express interest in pursuing careers in the health field.5
- AHEC & CHSC connected our chapter with two local high schools and reserved classroom time for chapter members to give an interactive presentation on careers in pharmacy, followed by a question-and-answer session.
- Executive board members met to create a PowerPoint focused on describing what a pharmacist does, education requirements, and different pharmacy career settings.
- Prior to presenting, each chapter member completed a 15-hour course on volunteerism and mentorship through AHEC & CHSC.
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
- We presented to four pre-health profession classes and engaged with over two hundred high school students.
- Surveys handed out to students by CHSC & AHEC suggest the presentations were well received by students, leading some students to consider a career in pharmacy by starting as a pharmacy technician.
- Teachers of the pre-health professions classes took note of student involvement and mentioned, “This is the most engaged I’ve seen my class in weeks.”
FURTHER DIRECTIONS & LIMITATIONS
- Our chapter plans to continue our partnership with CHEC & AHEC.
- Within the University of Saint Joseph, our chapter can connect with other health profession programs, such as nursing and physician assistant studies, to expand mentorship efforts and interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Surveys will be administered to students before and after presentations to measure the effectiveness of each talk.
- Barriers included difficulty scheduling high school visits and time constraints that limited the time our chapter members were able to spend mentoring each class.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Aaron Burton, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, Chapter Advisor
- Sajae Willis, Health Forward AmeriCorps Member Program Coordinator
- Sai Viswanathan, Health Forward AmeriCorps Member Program Coordinator