title: Factors Influencing Fourth-Year Pharmacy Students' Decisions to Pursue a Hospital Pharmacy Residency.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists promotes the recruitment of residency-trained pharmacists for work in hospitals and related health care settings. However, Quebec hospitals are still hiring non-residency trained pharmacists, in part because of a severe shortage of hospital pharmacists. To date, no studies have examined the factors influencing the career choices of fourth-year pharmacy students in Canada.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify motivating factors and barriers influencing students' decision to pursue a hospital pharmacy residency.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 186 fourth-year students in the Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, were invited by e-mail to participate in a validated and institutionally approved survey that was available online between March and May 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 138 respondents who returned a completed survey (74% response rate), 36 (26%) planned to apply for a hospital pharmacy residency. Those planning to apply for a residency were older (p = 0.037) and had more hospital work experience (36% versus 3%, p < 0.001) than those not planning to apply. The most important motivators for pursuing a residency were potential gains in knowledge (reported by 88% of respondents, whether or not they were planning to pursue a residency), experience (80%), and self-confidence (62%). The most frequently reported barriers were recognition that a hospital pharmacy residency is a highly demanding program (65%), having work available upon graduation from the undergraduate program (43%), and financial obligations (34%). Hospital experiential rotations influenced, either positively or negatively, 23 (72%) of the 32 students who changed their decision to pursue or not pursue residency training over the course of their studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The potential gain in knowledge and experience acquired through residency, the fact that it is considered a highly demanding program, and having work available upon graduation from undergraduate studies were the most influential factors in fourth-year pharmacy students' decision of whether to pursue a hospital pharmacy residency.
authors.affiliation: PharmD, MSc, is with the Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, and the Pharmacy Department, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dupuis
authors.affiliation: PharmD, is with the Pharmacy Vandergoten and Zaccara, Saint-Eustache, Quebec.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martel
authors.affiliation: BPharm, MBA, is with the Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Taha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arfa
authors.affiliation: MSc, is with the Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec.
authors.forename: Joannah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Valma
authors.affiliation: BPharm, MSc, PhD, BCPS, is with the Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, and the Pharmacy Department, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.affiliation: MSc, PharmD, BCPS, is with the Faculté de pharmacie, Université de Montréal, and the Pharmacy Department, McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Quebec. He is also an Associate Editor with the Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy .
authors.forename: Marc M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Perreault
keywords: career choice; pharmacy education; pharmacy student; residency training