ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH A COMMUNITY PHARMACY ROTATION

This paper reports the results of a work sampling study to look at the costs and benefits to pharmacist preceptors of community pharmacy rot ations. The objective of this study was to determine the percent of th e student's time spent on various activities during a rotation using w ork sampling, including time spent being taught and supervised by the preceptor. The cost of the preceptor's time spent teaching and supervi sing the student and the benefit of time saved by the student's work a ctivities were calculated. Data were collected from five students/site s over a three-week rotation. The economic analysis measured 'precepto r input' or costs, and 'student output' or benefits. Students were fou nd to spend almost twice as much time in work output activity as time spent by the preceptor in input activities. The results of the economi c analysis of costs and benefits to the preceptor were sensitive to th e wage value assigned to student output. When work output by the stude nt was assigned a value of 50 percent of a pharmacist's salary, there was a balance of costs to benefits.