STUDENT FINANCING OF A NONTRADITIONAL PHARMD EDUCATION - COMPARISON TO TRADITIONAL STUDENTS

Fifty-three students from the first three classes proceeding through the nontraditional PharmD program at the University of Kentucky responded to a mail or telephone survey to determine how they financed their education. The majority of students were hospital pharmacists (89 per cent) almost all of whom received tuition reimbursement from their employers (95 per cent). Availability of tuition reimbursement from the employer was reported to have affected the decision ot 43 percent of the pharmacists who entered the nontraditional PharmD option. Twenty-five post-BS PharmD students who enrolled in the traditional on-Gampus option of the PharmD program during the same period also responded to the survey. Thirty-two percent of the on-campus group received reimbursement from their hospital employers. Twenty-eight percent of the on-campus students said their decision to enter the PharmD program was influenced by the availability of tuition reimbursement. It appears that tuition reimbursement is widely used by employers as an employee benefit which may attract and retain highly motivated and qualified pharmacists while allowing the practitioner to improve his or her clinical skills.