| Summary: | Purpose: Teaching certificate programs have been developed by US colleges and schools of pharmacy to provide organized instruction for pharmacy residents seeking competence in classroom teaching or clinical precepting. The objective of this study is to appraise current status of teaching certificate programs offered by US colleges and schools of pharmacy. Method: A survey instrument was developed and sent to pharmacy practice department chairs/vice chairs at 132 US colleges/schools of Pharmacy. In addition, data collection was conducted by visiting websites of 132 colleges and schools of pharmacy. Descriptive statistics and content analysis methods were used for data analysis. Results: Out of 132 pharmacy schools surveyed, 69 schools reported offering teaching certificate programs for pharmacy residents. The programs enroll Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) and Post-Graduate Year 2 (PGY2) residents, fellows, preceptors, and faculty. These programs utilize longitudinal, concentrated, or combination of both experiences. While various teaching activities are required by all 69 programs, the requirements for attending seminar, research design, project and grant proposal writing were reported by 62%, 12%, and 0.07% of the reported programs, respectively. Programs were found to offer seminars on various topics such as teaching or pedagogical methodologies, assessment of student learning, and development of teaching portfolios. The national guidelines and recommendations are not fully met by the existing teaching certificate programs. With a total enrollment of 2,596 residents in 34 teaching certificate programs, since their inception, the overall completion rate was 91%. This study identifies a number of challenges including financial resources to develop a quality program. Data provided by 14 teaching certificate programs demonstrate that 33% of the graduates have accepted full-time faculty positions. Conclusion: Our study has identified teaching certificate programs that provide residents with opportunities for formal instruction and development of skills that can help prepare them for a faculty position. This study may assist colleges and schools of pharmacy that are planning to develop such programs for pharmacy residents and fellows.
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