Survey-based perceptions of impact of clinical pharmacists by attending physicians and medical residents/fellows

Background

Anecdotal concern existed at our institution that over-reliance on clinical pharmacist recommendations for medication-related decisions could negatively impact medical resident/fellow learning.

Purpose

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate perceived rounding clinical pharmacist impact by comparing perceptions of attending physicians with medical residents/fellows.

Method

This survey-based cohort study utilized two 10-item, 5-point Likert-scale surveys to evaluate perceptions of impact of clinical pharmacists on medical resident/fellow learning and overall reliance on clinical pharmacists at an academic tertiary care medical center. Mann-Whitney tests were utilized for statistical evaluations and statistical significance was set at a p-value of <0.05.

Discussion

Medical residents/fellows perceived that clinical pharmacists positively impacted their overall learning more so than attending physicians’ (p = 0.002). Additionally, attending physicians perceived a greater reliance on clinical pharmacists by medical residents/fellows for information on medication adverse effects (p = 0.02).

Conclusions

Both attending physicians and medical residents/fellows believed that clinical pharmacists positively impact medical resident/fellow learning experiences.