(112) Practice Outcomes for the First Decade of Rural Pharmacy Education (RPHARM) Program Graduates

Objective : The purpose of this project is to examine the practice outcomes for the first 10 graduating classes of a 4-year rural pharmacy education program (RPHARM) including rurality of practice location, practice type, and job movement from rural to urban locations.

Methods: This is a descriptive analysis. Relevant characteristics for practice outcomes of the RPHARM Program graduates were selected. Graduate data from 2014-2023 was included for those in physical practice locations (n=54).

Results: About 41% (22/54) of the RPHARM graduates were from rural hometowns, based on RUCA code 3.0 and two-thirds were female. RPHARM graduates are mostly working in either a community setting (44.4%) or in a hospital setting (37.0%). When looking at job movement, 37% of RPHARM graduates have always worked in a rural location and 50% of PRHARM graduates have always worked in an urban location. About 56% (30/54) of practicing RPHARM graduates are working in a location < 50 miles from their hometown. About 74% of RPHARM graduates are practicing in Illinois. The rural location practice outcomes are 44.4% using RUCA code 4 or more, 42.6% for Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) rural ZIP code, 42.6% for FORHP Rural County, 35.2% for Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) is non-metro, and 57.4% for practice city/town population less than 50,000.

Conclusions: Given the impact of rural background on practice location selection, it is rewarding that approximately 40% of RPHARM graduates are practicing in rural locations given that only ~41% of the graduates were originally from a rural hometown. A significant portion (37%) of RPHARM graduates are staying in rural locations once they decide to practice there and many (~56%) are practicing near their hometowns.