(262) A New Script to Refill the Pharmacy Pipeline

Objective : The public perception of pharmacy does not often reflect the breadth of pharmacy practice opportunities, and it is often thought that a pharmacist’s role is only to dispense medications. Inaccurate perceptions can have multiple implications, ranging from student recruitment to pharmacy advocacy efforts to professional identity and well-being. They ultimately can lead to a negative impact on patient access to care.
Given the current pharmacy landscape and pipeline challenges within education and practice, our college of pharmacy must inform the public of the many roles pharmacists can have to drive innovation and improve access to healthcare.

Methods: Our enrollment management team is focused on creating opportunities to educate students of all ages about the potential careers available to pharmacists. Through educational programs targeted toward primary and secondary school students, our goal will be to educate prospective students and families on the benefits of pharmacy education. Partnering with local schools and programs, we will provide students with hands-on opportunities in classrooms and labs and shadowing and volunteer experiences to educate them on the vast array of careers available to pharmacists.

The College’s communication plan to reach a broad audience and raise awareness of various pharmacy roles and potential careers includes a social media campaign, career fairs, ambassador and alums visibility, educational programs, and surveys to evaluate the public perception of pharmacy practice. Social media engagement, event attendance, survey results, and student enrollment in pharmacy programs will measure the plan’s success.

Results: We will evaluate the effectiveness of our communication plan through appropriate measures.

Conclusions: We hope this valuable exposure will increase interest in pharmacy as a profession, boosting applicants to pharmacy colleges and a “refill” of the pharmacy pipeline.