Insights Into a Multigenerational Pharmacy Residency Program

Historically, pharmacy residency programs have been initiated and spearheaded by a pharmacist who has been residency trained, at least 10 years of pharmacy experience, and has an established career. This would be called our Gen X pharmacist.

Preceptors in a pharmacy residency program are generally pharmacists who have had 3 to 5 years of clinical pharmacy experience, are residency or nonresidency trained, and are generally a Gen Y or millennial pharmacist.

Then, there are the residents who are freshly out of pharmacy school or at least one year of experience post pharmacy school and are our Gen Z pharmacists. As one could imagine, the different generational groups come from different backgrounds, have different methods of teaching and learning, and potentially have different work ethics. How do you make the best progress and outcome in a residency program that is multigenerational?

The Gen X pharmacist—who is the residency program director and who has voluntarily taking on the position of overseeing the program—would have a “mama bear” or “papa bear” type personality. These are the pharmacists who have the ultimate best interests of the residents at heart in becoming successful and getting the best experience out of the program. Additionally, based on when they were raised and when they finished pharmacy school, the Gen X pharmacist would also be the one who has the highest expectation of excellence from the residents. During their time in pharmacy school, there was a different didactic, mostly primarily hardcover books, pen and paper, more of a drug-focused dispensing and business aspect of pharmacy, and a specific train of thought on how the career of pharmacy should be reflected.

Next, we have the clinical pharmacist preceptors who are the most visible and most closely work with the Gen Z residents. These preceptors were generally mentored by the Gen X pharmacist but also have their own way of representing pharmacy and learning. These pharmacists also learned during the computer age and internet evolution which set them apart from the Gen X pharmacists or program residency directors. These preceptors were also the first of the PharmD graduates era. The Gen Y pharmacists graduated from pharmacy school with more of an emphasis on clinical pharmacy and bedside patient care.

Now, our current Gen Z pharmacy residents have been educated knowing clinical aspects of pharmacy careers, while still having the advantage of learning more about patient care in a retail setting and medication therapy management. The Gen Z pharmacy resident primarily learned using computers, laptops, tablets, and the internet. Not only did these pharmacists have the advantage of advanced technology, they were able to learn in both virtual and in-person lectures in a classroom. This generation is also more social media minded in that they also went through pharmacy school during the COVID-19 pandemic. As expected, these students, residents, and pharmacists learn differently and receive feedback differently than prior generations.

So, what is the best approach in a multigenerational pharmacy residency program for each generation of pharmacist in the program to become respected and seen?

Open mindedness and consistent communication that are not one-sided is key to a multigenerational residency program's success. Each generation holds knowledge that can be beneficial to the program success as a whole. Allowing each generation to ”be” who they are, accept their contributions, and have the ability to learn together makes for a successful and progressive residency program.