(211) Rxcellence unveiled: Illuminating the impact of continuing pharmacy education activity planning on post-graduate industry fellows

Objective : Accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) providers are encouraged to engage trainees in activity development. By encouraging trainee participation in CPE activity development, investigators hypothesized these opportunities foster continuous professional development and provide experiences that will translate into future professional roles. The aim of this study was to determine the scope of Rutgers Institute for Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowships (RPIF) fellows’ participation in CPE activity development and to evaluate the impact of participation on professional skill development and life-long learning.

Methods: The RPIF program provides post-graduate training for pharmacy and medical professionals to gain pharmaceutical industry experience. Fellows may fulfil teaching requirements through CPE activity development. To evaluate the impact of CPE activity planning, investigators administered a survey to all fellows involved with CPE planning from 2016-2022 to quantify the fellow CPE experience and perspectives.

Results: From 2016-2022, 18 CPE activities were planned and presented by 91 RPIF fellows. The survey link was distributed to 91 fellows of which 8 emails bounced and 20 responses were completed (response rate 24%). Most respondents developed one CE activity (65%) and served as a planner (70%) and speaker (90%) for these projects. The most cited rationale for participation was to build visibility and professional development (85%) and to gain public speaking experience (80%). Respondents agreed that CPE participation helped build communication skills with stakeholders (85%), presentation skills (80%), and the strategic planning process (75%).

Conclusions: Intentional interaction between pharmacy trainees and practicing professionals related to CPE activity development facilitates connections across the training continuum and meets life-long learning needs for those involved. Involvement in CPE activity planning during a post-graduate fellowship experience was perceived as beneficial to professional skills development.