Survey of pharmacy students to assess attitudes toward a career in older adult care

Introduction: In the United States, the older adult population is growing faster than the geriatrics trained healthcare workforce. The primary objective of this study was to determine the top factors that increase or decrease pharmacy student interest in seeking a career in geriatrics.Methods: A 23-item survey was disseminated to 611 first-through fourth-year pharmacy students. Participants were recruited from two public schools of pharmacy in the United States from February through September 2022. Surveys were administered during class or distributed via email and websites for required courses. Participation was voluntary, and responses were anonymous. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, Fisher's exact test, and analysis of variance were used for analysis.Results: A total of 210 responses were received. Respondents were evenly split between somewhat or extremely interested and somewhat or extremely disinterested in geriatrics. Among those interested, the top factors driving interest were past positive experiences with older adults, interest in deprescribing, and perceived need for geriatrics-trained providers. Among those not interested, the top three factors discouraging interest were emotional impact of death and end-of life care, disinterest in geriatric syndromes, and perception of inadequate exposure to geriatrics within the curriculum.Conclusions: In order to ensure an adequately trained geriatrics workforce for the aging population, it is crucial to intensify efforts to encourage health profession students to pursue careers in geriatric care. Creating opportunities to increase interest and addressing factors that discourage interest may augment the pipeline of pharmacy students wishing to seek a career specializing in older adult care.