(278) Building Better Pharmacists: Retention Through Investing in Student Success and Well-being

Objective : At Western University of Health Sciences, College of Pharmacy, substantial resources have been dedicated to student retention, using a framework of our motto: Create, Care, Connect. Student progression is valued at every touch point, from admission to graduation, with emphasis on developing professional identity (Create), student well-being by fostering a sense of belonging (Care), and establishing networks to ensure a strong relationship with the College (Connect).

Methods: Reception events for accepted applicants and an Orientation Week, Convocation, and White Coat Ceremony for matriculants ensure smooth onboarding and engagement with the WesternU family. Team building, curricular readiness, and professional identity formation exercises start on Day 1.

Our learner-centered curricula support student learning (absorbing, processing, retaining information), and performance, while an innovative curricular design reinforces and integrates knowledge and skills. The College’s Supporting Student Success (SSS) program identifies and monitors students with low admissions criteria and/or poor performance in didactic courses, and examines performance challenges related to academic content and student well-being. Students who struggle have an opportunity to remediate and achieve competency and progression, without compromising curricular standards. Similarly, monitoring of student progress and communications with preceptors enable experiential progression.

Enhancement of our programs at every step is made based on a springboard of 360o assessments and continuous quality improvement.

Results: Outcomes related to these approaches indicate On-Time Graduation rates and Overall Graduation rates of 82-94% and 94-96%, respectively, for Classes 2020-2022. Student Attrition for academic or professional reasons was at 2.4%. NAPLEX and CPJE pass rates were 91-95% and 69.9-79.7%, respectively.

Conclusions: Our multi-pronged approach to progression and retention have been promising. Further monitoring and improvement are needed to ensure success as student pharmacists and as practicing pharmacists.