Practice Outcomes for the First Decade of Rural Pharmacy Education (RPHARM) Program Graduates

Abstract Background The maldistribution of pharmacy services in underserved areas is a national issue. Analysis of data from the 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Study indicated that 13.9% of pharmacists were working in a rural community. However, the percentage of people living in rural communities in the United States is 20.0%.Currently, there are 20 rural pharmacy programs in the United States, including the Rural Pharmacy Education (RPHARM) Program at the UIC College of Pharmacy, which contain both didactic and experiential rural components. The purpose of this research project is to examine the postgraduate practice outcomes of the RPHARM Program. Methods Descriptive analysis was used to examine the practice outcome characteristics of RPHARM Program graduates between 2014 and 2023. The characteristics of the RPHARM graduates included the ruralities of hometowns, practice locations and populations, and distance of practice locations to hometowns. Rural practice outcomes were described utilizing frequently used rural definitions. The practice locations of 54 of the 61 RPHARM graduates were used in the analysis. Results Approximately 41% of the practicing RPHARM graduates were from rural hometowns and two-thirds were female. RPHARM graduates mostly work in either a community setting (44.4%) or a hospital setting (37.0%). Approximately 11% worked in a federal government organization and 5.6% worked in a long-term care pharmacy. When examining job movement, 37% of RPHARM graduates have always worked in a rural location as defined by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. However, 50% of RPHARM graduates have always worked in urban areas. Approximately 56% of practicing RPHARM graduates are working in a location Conclusions Approximately 40% of RPHARM graduates practice in rural locations. A significant portion (37%) of RPHARM graduates have always practiced in rural locations, and many (55.5%) are practicing near their hometowns. Results indicate that the RPHARM Program is making meaningful contributions to increasing the rural pharmacy workforce. Due to the lack of information on rural pharmacy practice outcomes, all programs with rural pharmacy content are encouraged to track graduates’ practice locations.