PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Justin Gatwood
AU  - Kenneth Hohmeier
AU  - Glen Farr
AU  - Stephen Eckel
TI  - A Comparison of Approaches to Student Pharmacist Business Planning in Pharmacy Practice Management
AID  - 10.5688/ajpe6279
DP  - 2018 Jun 01
TA  - American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
PG  - 6279
VI  - 82
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.ajpe.org/content/82/5/6279.short
4100  - http://www.ajpe.org/content/82/5/6279.full
SO  - Am J Pharm Educ2018 Jun 01; 82
AB  - Objective. To compare second-year student pharmacists’ perspectives on two approaches for completing a pharmacy practice management business planning project.Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used to compare two options (traditional and experimental) for completing business plan projects that were offered to teams of second-year student pharmacists as part of a required pharmacy management course. Teams who chose the traditional project were required to develop a unique, pharmacy-related business plan while those who chose the experimental concept were paired with a pharmacy-focused firm within Tennessee and tasked with designing a potential service for the firm’s consideration. At semester’s end, all students were asked to complete a brief survey to provide insight on their experiences with either of the group projects. Students and firm stakeholders were also asked to participate in a group and individual interview, respectively.Results. Student group comparisons indicated that the experimental project provided a more real-world, business planning experience. Additionally, groups that did the experimental project were more likely to report seeing how business and pharmacy practice were connected, indicate a better understanding of the principles of pharmacy management, and be perceived as more marketable for a future pharmacy career. Firm representatives indicated that insight provided by the students was valuable and that they had plans to implement what was proposed.Conclusion. Connecting student pharmacists with a pharmacy-focused firm provided a real-world management experience that better complemented the course’s principles, and created a mutually beneficial innovation-focused partnership.