Exposing Pharmacy Residents to Implementation Science

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) aims to improve patient care by innovating pharmacy practices. ASHP-accredited pharmacy residencies require projects that enhance pharmacy practice, focusing on effective project management and quality improvement. However, only a few of these innovations smoothly become part of routine clinical practice. One solution worth exploring involves teaching Implementation Science in residencies. Exposing residents and mentors to Implementation Science offers two main benefits. First, it helps learn from failed interventions by considering alternative thoughts and grasping environmental influences, leading to smarter decisions in future implementations. Second, applying implementation science improves patient care by turning evidence-based practices into practical actions, ensuring better care, consistency across healthcare setups, fewer errors, and tailoring innovative services to specific institutional needs. Exposing pharmacy residents to implementation science pushes forward pharmacy practice by actively applying evidence-based innovations in broader pharmacy or clinical practice.