APhA2006 House of Delegates action: forming consensus on contemporary issues that reflect the profession's priorities.

A report commissioned by the Canadian Health Services Research Pharmacy residency training programs has been a source for pharmacist postgraduate education and training since the 1960s.1 The structured training provided through residency programs provides pharmacists with opportunities to learn how to integrate their clinical skills and knowledge into practice and provide patient care that ensures positive drug therapy outcomes. Many recent developments in the area of residency training will affect the future of pharmacy residency training programs. First, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Commission on Credentialing’s new residency accreditation standards will take effect in 2007. The new standards, with residency training and learning objectives designated for postgraduate years 1 and 2, seek to define and differentiate residency training in sequences that build on previous knowledge and skills as pharmacists move toward becoming advanced practitioners.2,3 Second, the American Council for Pharmacy Education’s (ACPE’s) Accreditation Standard and Guidelines, adopted in January 2006, directs colleges and schools of pharmacy to become more committed in their support of development and implementation of postgraduate professional training and education programs, such as accredited residencies.4 In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to threaten elimination of important reasonable cost passthrough funding that is used by institutions to support residency training. Through continuous lobbying and educational efforts by institution administrators, professional associations, residency preceptors, and residents, pharmacy practice residencies have been spared from these funding cuts. Unfortunately, this funding has been eliminated by CMS for second-year specialized residency programs.5 Finally, according to the Final Report and Recommendations of the 2002 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Task Force on the Role of Colleges and Schools in Residency Training, community pharmacy residency training programs are to be created to focus on a mix of experiences such as patient care, pharmacy operations, teaching, and fiscal resources. One way to guarantee consistency and depth and breadth of a residency is through site accreditation. The AACP report comes full circle by encouraging colleges and schools of pharmacy to provide unique opportunities and begin the mentoring process throughout the professional doctoral curriculum.6