(89) Required Co-Curricular Activities to Enhance Student Preparedness for Post-Graduation Job Opportunities

Objective : The ACPE Standards task schools and colleges of pharmacy with ensuring students are career-ready including preparing them for employment. The objective of this study is to determine if providing required co-curricular career preparation activities in the P3 year increased student perception of preparation to apply for post-graduation positions.

Methods: Graduating seniors completed a student exit survey to assess their perceptions of the program and preparation for practice. Within that survey, questions about career development and preparation were provided with students’ responses answered either open-ended (2019) or on a 5-point Likert scale (2020-2022). Three career preparation co-curricular activities were implemented in the P3 year starting with the graduating class of 2020 including CV/letter of intent (LOI) development, job search, and mock interview. Survey responses from 2019 graduates were used as comparator data. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: For 2019 graduates prior to implementation of the co-curriculum program, 4%, 48%, and 15% of students did not feel prepared to craft a CV, to write a LOI, and to interview, respectively. With the addition of the co-curricular activities, students feeling unprepared for the career preparation activities were as follows (CV, LOI, interview): class of 2020 (2%, 7%, 4%), class of 2021 (1%, 5%, 6%), and class of 2022 (1%, 5%, 5%).

Conclusions: Employment continues to be competitive for our graduates. Incorporating career preparation activities into the required co-curriculum for students prior to APPE rotations allows them to feel more prepared as job opportunities present themselves leading up to graduation.