Pharmacy Phamilies as a Component of a Co-Curricular Program for Doctor of Pharmacy Students

BACKGROUND: Pharmacy student professional growth depends heavily on co-curricular involvement, in addition to classroom learning. Co-curricular programming can be supported by an innovative structure using self-directed learning and a unique mentorship process. INNOVATION: A novel faculty and peer mentorship structure, called Pharmacy Phamilies, is integrated into a credited Lifelong Learning course that spans the 4 years of our PharmD program. This course is comprised of student-chosen activities to meet requirements in six domains, as well as reflections and other assignments. Recent changes include a new Pharmacy Phamily group reflection process and the use of co-curricular logs to document student activities. FINDINGS: Based on a student survey, the majority of respondents were satisfied with their level of engagement with their Pharmacy Phamily (72%) and with their advisor (76%). The majority also reported that the Pharmacy Phamily program is meeting its goals of establishing a sense of community at the college (76%) and enhancing students’ professional development (72%). A total of 86% of students preferred the Pharmacy Phamily group reflection over the former six individual reflections and 93% of students agreed the co-curricular log was a useful tool to document involvement in professional activities. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy Phamilies and peer-reviewed, group reflection can provide an inclusive structure of support and social connection for students at the college of pharmacy.