Training and retaining community pharmacy leaders: Career pathways after completing a PGY1 community pharmacy residency affiliated with a large supermarket chain

Objective

To determine pharmacist career paths and resident perceptions after completion of a PGY1 community pharmacy residency with a national supermarket pharmacy chain.

Methods

Cross-sectional nationwide survey.

Results

Overall, 65% (n = 24) of residents who responded accepted a position with Kroger immediately after graduation. When asked about the degree of value the residency had on obtaining the resident’s ideal position, 29 (76%) reported that it was “very valuable” and the remaining 9 (24%) reported that it was “somewhat valuable.” Positions that these pharmacists held immediately after residency completion were: clinical pharmacist (clinical coordinators, patient care specialists, or patient care managers; 54%), staff pharmacist (21%), split/mixed (mixed clinical and staffing components; 21%), and pharmacy manager (4%).

Conclusion

Residency trained pharmacists were retained by the pharmacy chain where they practiced, and the majority of those pharmacists held split or full-time clinical pharmacist roles within the chain supermarket pharmacy.