Innovative ideas, strategies, and resources to attract students to the pharmacy profession: Report of the 2023-2024 AACP Student Affairs Committee

Over the past two decades, the academy has witnessed an increase in new colleges and schools of pharmacy and simultaneously a decrease in student applications, resulting in a decline in enrollment across most institutions. Although the number of students pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree has been dropping, the academy is responsible for bolstering recruitment to effectively prepare a robust pharmacy workforce to care for our ever-growing and complex patient populations. The 2023-2024 Student Affairs Committee (SAC) was convened to explore new ideas, develop innovative strategies, and gather supportive resources that can be utilized by colleges and schools of pharmacy to attract students to the pharmacy profession. The SAC was charged with developing a framework for a video mini-series that utilizes the art of storytelling to promote the pharmacy profession to prospective students. Secondarily, the SAC was charged with developing a plan to engage with students who apply but do not ultimately get accepted into non-pharmacy health professions programs and consider recommendations for targeting pharmacy technicians to pursue a PharmD degree. To accomplish this work, we created videos and proposed other innovative tools and flexible pathways to assist in recruiting students into the pharmacy profession. We also conducted a literature and website review, engaged in professional networking across the academy, and proposed best practices to enhance student recruitment. Additionally, we offered eight recommendations to AACP and seven suggestions to colleges and schools of pharmacy to attract students to the pharmacy profession. Executive Summary The academy has seen a decrease in student applications, leading to lower enrollment at most institutions. The 2023-2024 Student Affairs Committee (SAC) was chargedto develop new strategies and resources to attract students to pharmacy programs. We created videos and other tools, proposing flexible pathways to aid recruitment. We provided eight recommendations to AACP and seven suggestions to colleges and schools of pharmacy to help attract students to the profession.