Developing and improving residency research training

Abstract

Purpose: Peer-reviewed literature on pharmacy residency research training is reviewed with an emphasis on innovative strategies for research training enhancement.

Summary: There is a persistent gap between institutional expectations regarding the entry-level research skills of advanced-practice pharmacists and the research training experiences provided to pharmacy residents. This gap is especially problematic because pharmacy residency programs have become a primary source for recruitment of advanced-practice pharmacists. A literature review was conducted to characterize the current state of pharmacy residency research training and identify strategies to better prepare pharmacists for involvement in practice-based research. The 30 articles selected for review addressed four broad topic areas: residency stakeholder perceptions of research training, approaches to effective pharmacy residency research training, scholarly output resulting from resident research, and proposals and professional organization directives for advancement of pharmacy residency research training. Overall, the reviewed literature suggested four broad themes: (1) The extent and quality of research training provided to residents vary according to the limits imposed by the available expertise and resources of individual residency programs, (2) a formalized training approach is essential for research skills development, (3) proper training can improve scholarly output from resident research projects, and (4) guidelines alone are insufficient to ensure adequate development of research skills.

Conclusion: A review of the literature identified three strategies that can enhance residency research training: formalizing the process, engaging expertise and collaboration, and formatting the training for use across all pharmacy residency programs.

Keywords: advanced-practice pharmacists; research skills; residency training; resident research.