Developing Teaching Skills during the Pharmacy Practice Residency Program: Design and Implementation
Design and Implementation of Teaching Activities
If the addition of a teaching or precepting activity to the residency program is to be considered, proper design and implementation are required. Although it can be argued that no brief experience during a residency can prepare the resident to fulfill the responsibilities of a preceptor, an activity that addresses ways to facilitate learning, the importance of both positive and negative feedback, and the manner in which to deliver feedback could result in program graduates being more eager and perhaps better equipped to teach and precept. It would be crucial, however, to design the activity in such a way that elements are integrated into (not added to) the residents’ already-busy schedule. The ideal would be a resident-as-teacher activity incorporated into the resident’s daily work, preferably during the last few months of the program, when the resident has already developed patient care skills and knowledge. The planning and development of the activity may be best achieved by examining programs that already have a teaching or precepting component.
Although some view the residency program as the logical opportunity to expose residents to these skills, there are potential impediments. Time constraints in most programs mean that it is already difficult to schedule enough clinical rotations for residents to develop competency in patient care skills. However, as demonstrated by some of the 6 programs that already have a teaching or precepting component, it may be possible to incorporate such activities without allotting dedicated time, by finding “teachable moments or opportunities” that may currently be overlooked. These might be occasions when the resident takes charge of organizing and delivering a learning session for both residents and students. For example, the resident could be responsible for creating a set of learning objectives, developing a didactic session utilizing a variety of teaching styles, encouraging student participation (and hence 2-way dialogue and learning), and providing feedback to the student. The premise of this approach is that residents could develop some skills, strategies, and approaches to teaching and precepting as a head start for their future role as preceptors, without adding to their already overloaded schedule. In fact, any situation that involves both a resident and a student (e.g., the presence of both in the same clinical practice area and under the guidance of the same preceptor) may be an opportunity for the resident to develop teaching and precepting skills.
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As became evident from the survey of BC residency coordinators, activities such as learning sessions with both residents and students, which some coordinators identified as conducive to a positive learning environment, are commonly encountered. There are also many occasions during the last few months of the residency program where a resident and a student could interact as “preceptor” and student, respectively, under the guidance of a hospital pharmacy preceptor, while both are training in the same clinical area. Thus, if the idea of addressing teaching and precepting skills in the residency program is to be embraced, it may be a case of simply taking advantage of existing opportunities.
Evaluation of Teaching Activities
A teaching and precepting activity within the residency program should have a comprehensive evaluation system to provide feedback to the resident in his or her role as preceptor. An evaluation of the activity itself would also be required and would be critical to determining which aspects of the activity, if any, improve job readiness. It would be wrong to assume, without proper evaluation, that addressing teaching and precepting skills during the residency will result in better future preceptors.
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