Factors influencing professional state association membership decisions among recent pharmacy graduates

Introduction: State pharmacy association membership levels have remained stagnant in recent years despite active student organization involvement among student pharmacists and an increased number of pharmacy schools producing new pharmacy graduates in the United States. The objective of this project was to examine factors considered by recent pharmacy graduates when deciding to join state pharmacy associations. Methods: A 16-item cross sectional survey of recent pharmacy graduates collected respondents' demographic profile, professional student organization involvement, association memberships, and membership decision factors. Results: The most influential factors in membership decisions included continuing education (62.8%), opportunity to advance pharmacy practice (51.1%), email updates (39.4%), and networking opportunities (37.2%). State pharmacy association meeting attendance (p = 0.004 and p = 0.028 for the Kentucky Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Kentucky Pharmacists Association respectively), student organization membership (p = 0.038), committee service (p= 0.025), and state association board participation (p = 0.021) during pharmacy education increases the likelihood of membership in state associations. Conclusions: Early engagement in state pharmacy associations during pharmacy school improves the likelihood of new practitioner membership. Pharmacy schools should engage with state association leaders to promote student committee participation, association board participation, and attendance at state meetings to ensure the continued success of state pharmacy associations.