The meaning of being a pharmacist: considering the professional identity development of first year pharmacy students (original) (raw)
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Becoming a pharmacist: the role of curriculum in professional identity formation
Objective: To understand how the formal curriculum experience of an Australian undergraduate pharmacy program supports students' professional identity formation. Methods: A qualitative ethnographic study was conducted over four weeks using participant observation and examined the 'typical' student experience from the perspective of a pharmacist. A one-week period of observation was undertaken with each of the four year groups (that is, for years one to four) comprising the undergraduate curriculum. Data were collected through observation of the formal curriculum experience using field notes, a reflective journal and informal interviews with 38 pharmacy students. Data were analyzed thematically using an a priori analytical framework. Results: Our findings showed that the observed curriculum was a conventional curricular experience which focused on the provision of technical knowledge and provided some opportunities for practical engagement. There were some opportunities for students to imagine themselves as pharmacists, for example, when the lecture content related to practice or teaching staff described their approach to practice problems. However, there were limited opportunities for students to observe pharmacist role models, experiment with being a pharmacist or evaluate their professional identities. While curricular learning activities were available for students to develop as pharmacists e.g. patient counseling, there was no contact with patients and pharmacist academic staff tended to role model as educators with little evidence of their pharmacist selves. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the current conventional approach to the curriculum design may not be fully enabling learning experiences which support students in successfully negotiating their professional identities. Instead it appeared to reinforce their identities as students with a naïve understanding of professional practice, making their future transition to professional practice challenging.
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2022
Pharmacy schools have taught professionalism for many years, but are now discussing the model of professional identity formation adopted by academic medicine. The former is an outward expression of a community's norms while the latter is an internalization of those norms such that one thinks, acts, and feels like a member of the community. Some have expressed concern that the wide-ranging roles and responsibilities of pharmacists mean there is no universal identity for the pharmacy profession and that a student's professional identity therefore cannot be easily developed. This commentary suggests that the profession's identity is an outward expression to patients and other health care providers of what pharmacists do, while one's professional identity is an internal acceptance that being a pharmacist is who one is. The former may make the latter easier to develop, but is not required to begin guiding student pharmacists in the formation of their professional identity.
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2021
Professional identity formation (PIF) involves internalizing and demonstrating the behavioral norms, standards, and values of a professional community, such that one comes to "think, act and feel" like a member of that community. Professional identity influences how a professional perceives, explains, presents and conducts themselves. This report of the 2020-2021 AACP Student Affairs Standing Committee (SAC) describes the benefits of a strong professional identity, including its importance in advancing practice transformation. Responding to a recommendation from the 2019-2020 SAC, this report presents an illustrative and interpretative schema as an initial step towards describing a pharmacist's identity. However, the profession must further elucidate a universal and distinctive pharmacist identity, in order to better support pharmacists and learners in explaining and presenting the pharmacist's scope of practice and opportunities for practice change. Additionally, the report outlines recommendations for integrating intentional professional identity formation within professional curricula at colleges and schools of pharmacy. Although there is no standardized, single way to facilitate PIF in students, the report explores possibilities for meeting the student support and faculty development needs of an emerging new emphasis on PIF within the Academy.
The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2022
Pharmacy schools have taught professionalism for many years, but are now discussing the model of professional identity formation adopted by academic medicine. The former is an outward expression of a community's norms while the latter is an internalization of those norms such that one thinks, acts, and feels like a member of the community. Some have expressed concern that the wide-ranging roles and responsibilities of pharmacists mean there is no universal identity for the pharmacy profession and that a student's professional identity therefore cannot be easily developed. This commentary suggests that the profession's identity is an outward expression to patients and other health care providers of what pharmacists do, while one's professional identity is an internal acceptance that being a pharmacist is who one is. The former may make the latter easier to develop, but is not required to begin guiding student pharmacists in the formation of their professional identity.
Professional identity development: a review of the higher education literature
Studies in Higher Education, 2011
This study examined the extant higher education literature on the development of professional identities. Through a systematic review approach 20 articles were identified that discussed in some way professional identity development in higher education journals. These articles drew on varied theories, pedagogies and learning strategies; however, most did not make a strong connection to professional identities. Further research is needed to better understand the tensions between personal and professional values, structural and power influences, discipline versus generic education, and the role of workplace learning on professional identities.
Factors Influencing Professional Identity Construction in Fourth Year Pharmacy Students
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Objectives: To explore the key factors that influence professional identity construction in fourth year pharmacy students enrolled in a doctor of pharmacy program. Methods: A single site instrumental case study of current fourth year pharmacy students from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (LDFP), University of Toronto, was used. Thirteen students participated in semi-structured interviews. Poststructural social identity theories were used to analyze the data and identify themes that influence identity construction in pharmacy students. Results: Data analysis identified five overarching themes that influence pharmacy student professional identity construction: path to pharmacy, curriculum, environment, preceptors, and patient interactions. The LDFP pharmacy curriculum prioritized the healthcare provider identity, which influenced the students desire to 'become' clinicians. Based on their internalized healthcare provider identity they rejected preceptors and practice environments that negatively impacted their ability to embody this identity. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that pharmacy students align themselves strongly with healthcare provider identities at the cost of other potentially relevant identities. Pharmacy education programs may benefit from curricular reforms that incorporate and legitimize multiple pharmacist identities to ensure a strong pharmacy workforce for the future.
Professional identity development: a review of the higher education
2012
This study examined the extant higher education literature on the development of professional identities (PID). Through a systematic review approach 20 articles were identified that discussed in some way professional identity development in higher education journals. These papers drew on varied theories, pedagogies and learning strategies; however, most did not make a strong connection to PID. Further research is needed to better understand the tensions between personal and professional values, structural and power influences, discipline versus generic, and the role of workplace learning on PID.
<p>Pharmacy student professional identity formation: a scoping review</p>
Integrated pharmacy research and practice, 2019
Transitioning from being pharmacy students to pharmacists is challenging. Students need to reconcile their professional aspirations and what they have learnt with the realities of practice. A smooth transition can be hampered when they are unable to enact the role they have envisaged or if their expectations are not met. These challenges relate to professional identity. A key challenge for pharmacy educators is how best to support the professional identity formation (PIF) of pharmacy students. To assist with this challenge, we conducted a scoping review to identify factors influencing pharmacy students' PIF and pedagogical strategies to support PIF. Methods: In September 2018, we undertook a scoping review of all contemporary research investigating pharmacy student PIF including all relevant qualitative, quantitative, theoretical, and gray literature. We searched eight databases for the review: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Australian Education Index, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Literature published between January 2008 and September 2018 was reviewed and screened using inclusion/exclusion criteria. The selected articles were charted and thematically analyzed. Results: We included 22 articles in the review. Studies generally concurred about the importance of attending to PIF throughout the whole pharmacy curriculum. Yet, those studies reporting on pharmacy students' professional identities found that students experienced challenges forming their identities. While several curriculum interventions supporting PIF have been implemented, these tended to be one-offs and there was an absence of interventions engaging key stakeholders including placement preceptors, other health professionals, and patients/consumers. Conclusion: Supporting the formation of pharmacy students' professional identity, while recognized as an important goal for pharmacy education, requires further empirical inquiry. Pedagogical practices focused on identity formation including adopting an integrative curricular approach are required.
Pharmacy, 2017
Professional identity development, seen as essential in the transition from student to professional, needs to be owned by the universities in order to ensure a workforce appropriately prepared to provide global health care in the future. The development of professional identity involves a focus on who the student is becoming, as well as what they know or can do, and requires authentic learning experiences such as practice exposure and interaction with pharmacist role models. This article examines conceptual frameworks aligned with professional identity development and will explore the role for self-determination theory (SDT) in pharmacy professional education. SDT explains the concepts of competence, relatedness and autonomy and the part they play in producing highly motivated individuals, leading to the development of one's sense of self. Providing support for students in these three critical areas may, in accordance with the tenets of SDT, have the potential to increase motivation levels and their sense of professional identity.