An Elective Course to Foster Interest in Academic Pharmacy Career Opportunities

Abstract

<b>Objective.</b> To create an elective course to foster student interest in pursuing a career in academic pharmacy. <b>Design.</b> The course met for two hours once weekly throughout the semester and required student attendance at the AACP Annual Meeting. The course included didactic instruction, a student-designed individual teaching seminar, design and implementation of a research project for presentation at a national meeting, and drafting of a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. <b>Assessment.</b> Student evaluations revealed strong agreement that the course met the stated objectives. Follow-up correspondence indicated that almost 70% were likely to pursue an academic career and felt the course gave them advantages over their peers in this regard. <b>Conclusion.</b> The outcomes from this elective course and follow-up surveys confirmed that the majority of participants were planning on pursuing an academic pharmacy career and felt the course increased their readiness to do so.