Professional reading habits of pharmacists attending 2 educational seminars in New York City.

Purpose: Data regarding the professional reading habits of pharmacists in the United States are lacking. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate whether pharmacists read professional publications and assess other aspects of their professional reading habits.

Methods: In December 2010, surveys were distributed to pharmacists participating in 2 educational seminars in New York City. The main outcome measures were percentages of pharmacists who read regularly (at least monthly), specific publications read, and the perceived value and impact of reading.

Results: A total of 184 pharmacists were surveyed. Of the 122 (66%) respondents, 112 (92%) reported reading professional publications regularly. Of these, 97 (87%) indicated the titles read, with the 4 publications reported most frequently being Drug Topics (n = 73; 75%), Pharmacy Times (n = 67; 69%), US Pharmacist (n = 60; 62%), and Pharmacist's Letter (n = 48; 49%). All 122 respondents indicated that reading positively impacted their practice, and 121 (99%) reported that reading was important.

Conclusions: The value of reading professional publications was recognized by surveyed pharmacists; this likely contributed to the high reading rate reported in this study.