Pediatric Education Diagnosis Survey (PEDS): Analyzing Pediatric Education within PharmD Programs in the United States

Abstract

Specific Aims: To evaluate the level of didactic and experiential pediatric education currently provided in ACPE-accredited Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs throughout the United States by comparing geographic location and type of institution. Methods: Questionnaires were administered electronically to pediatric clinicians through the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Pediatric Practice and Research Network (PRN) listserve and consisted of demographic questions as well as questions regarding the number of hours of didactic pediatric education within courses, the number of hours of experiential education, and the specific pediatric experiences available to students. Main Results: Questionnaires were completed by 36 Colleges of Pharmacy (29%) and included 26 dedicated pediatric faculty, 9 adjunct pediatric faculty, and 1 non-pediatric faculty who were the primary instructors for pediatric education. The average reported number of pediatric didactic hours was 16.3±19.2 hours. Pediatric didactic education was similar between private and state funded institutions (p=0.24) as well as geographic location (p=0.74). The percentages of students taking the different types of experiential rotations were similar between state funded and private institutions (p=0.64). There was a significant difference between regions for the percentage of students participating in pediatric APPE rotations (p<0.001). Specifically, the Northeast and Midwest regions showed a higher percentage than the South Atlantic, South Central, and West regions (p<0.001). Programs commonly reported the following pediatric rotations: general pediatrics (78%), pediatric critical care (69%), neonatal critical care (67%), and pediatric ambulatory care (28%). Conclusion: Pediatric didactic and experiential education appears to be consistent between state and privately-funded institutions as well as between geographic regions with the exception of a higher percentage of students in the Northeast and Midwest participating in pediatric APPE.