A historical overview of IPPE program administrators' roles and responsibilities at US colleges and schools of pharmacy

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of this research was to determine changes in introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) program administrators' demographics, roles, and responsibilities over time, and reflect on internal and external forces resulting in these shifts. This information provides an opportunity for schools to improve functioning of their IPPE administrative offices.

Methods: A 2020 web-based questionnaire was sent to IPPE program administrators at 141 fully accredited and candidate status colleges and schools of pharmacy (hereafter referred to as schools). The responses were compared to previously published results from similar surveys in 2008 and in 2013.

Results: One hundred thirteen IPPE administrators responded to the 2020 questionnaire for an 80% response rate. A comparative analysis of the data from 2008, 2013, and 2020 revealed a decrease in average class size and changes over time in six administrative areas. These areas included IPPE administrator responsibilities, position types, primary administrator's time devoted to IPPE administration, utilization of a programmatic decision-making committee, inclusion on the school's executive committee, and the number of clerical fulltime equivalents utilized in managing IPPE programs.

Conclusions: A comparison of data from three studies revealed significant trends in six areas of IPPE administration over time. The primary drivers of change appear to be workload, fluctuating class sizes, and programmatic costs.

Keywords: Administrator responsibilities; Experiential administrator; Experiential roles; Experiential surveys; Introductory pharmacy practice experiences.