An innovative pharmacy clinical educator program reimagining clinical training for hospital pharmacists

Abstract Background Following the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Australian hospital pharmacy workforce experienced unprecedented employee turnover, necessitating widespread recruitment of pharmacists with limited or no prior hospital experience. Despite availability of training programs for pre‐registrant and early career pharmacists, training frameworks for new‐to‐hospital ward pharmacists were lacking. Aim To design a robust Pharmacy clinical educator (PCE) program that expedited ward readiness of new‐to‐hospital pharmacists. Method A PCE senior pharmacist designed and implemented the PCE program across a seven‐site, 2100‐bed tertiary hospital, located in Victoria, Australia. Twenty‐six experienced hospital pharmacists were credentialed as PCEs through undertaking entrustable professional activity (EPA) assessments and attending two 2‐day workshops focusing on adult learning principles and effective feedback. PCEs partnered 1:1 with learners and tailored the training program to the learner's prior experience and goals. Pre‐ and post‐program learner surveys were completed and analysed. This study was exempt due to the local policy requirements that constitute research by Monash Health Research Support Services (Reference no: RES‐23‐0000‐468Q). The justification for this exemption was as follows: the study conforms with the National Health and Medical Research Council Ethical considerations in quality assurance and evaluation activities and utilised only routinely collected data to maintain and assess a new service provided and to improve the program. Informed consent was not required per Monash Health Quality Assurance Policy and Procedure, but to ensure transparency, a written statement was provided at the beginning of the survey, outlining its purpose and explaining data would be anonymous and confidential and be used for program evaluation. The research did not include any assessment of staff. Results From August 2022–September 2024, 274 learners partnered with a PCE; 204 learners undertook the standard training program. Overall, of these 204 learners, 92% ( n = 187) of standard program learners completed their training and were practising on wards independently, while 8% ( n = 17) of learners were in progress in the program. PCEs completed 2370 EPA assessments and of the 118 post‐program survey respondents 75% ( n = 88) agreed EPAs were valuable to their training and 83% ( n = 98) agreed that dedicated time with a PCE was impactful to their practise. Conclusion The PCE program established an effective framework for future education programs. The program delivered comprehensive training, targeted to learners' needs, and supported the transition of new‐to‐hospital pharmacists to expedite ward readiness.