Developing Professional Identity in Undergraduate Pharmacy Students: A Role for Self-Determination Theory (original) (raw)
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Design and Evaluation of a Professional Identity Development Program for Pharmacy Students
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2018
Objective. To design and evaluate a professional identity program (PIP) based on self-determination theory (SDT) for entering Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) students. Methods. The PIP, which featured autonomy-supportive teaching approaches, was delivered as 10 workshops that were integrated into existing pharmacy courses over the first four semesters (2 years) of the BPharm program. The program was evaluated using a student satisfaction survey and two previously validated tools for measuring professional identity (MCPIS-9) and motivation to study pharmacy (Pharm-S). Nonparametric statistical techniques were used to compare students' scores before and after introducing the PIP. Results. Students responded positively to the introduction of the PIP in the pharmacy program. Based on survey responses, the students valued opportunities to engage in activities and discussions related to professional development and identity formation. Student scores on the motivation-based tool (Pharm-S) increased by the end of the first year of participation in the PIP, indicating an increase in student autonomy levels. There was no change in students' scores on the professional identity measure (MCPIS-9) after the first year. Conclusion. The use of SDT-based instruction in professional identity education resulted in increased levels of autonomy in pharmacy students, indicating a transition to more intrinsic levels of motivation. This has the potential to positively impact student professional identity and future professional practice.
<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.
Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 2018
a four-year professional program, has assimilated its career development and advising program into the curriculum as a primary element of the Pharmacist Patient Care Experience (PPCE) course. The concept of PID focuses on student pharmacist career development. The goals for the PID module include guided self-assessment and goal-setting related to career choice with attention to work-life balance, community engagement and leadership. Students also work in small groups, called Professional Development Advising Teams (PDAT), led by a PDAT clinical advisor who is a practicing pharmacist. These meetings provide a forum to debrief self-assessment work and clinical experiences and make connections between the two. Findings: A voluntary survey was administered to six classes of NEOMED alumni (2011-2016) to evaluate the longitudinal PID curriculum. Respondents found many aspects of the PID curriculum to be beneficial in the development of their professional identity and career planning journey. Most felt that PID sessions enabled them to effectively prepare for a career in pharmacy, with goal setting, Curriculum Vitae (CV) review, and career exploration most helpful in planning for their future careers. Discussion: PID curricula are resource-intensive and require a firm commitment from administration and the faculty. Elements of the program can be adapted and utilized in a variety of different ways, making this model accessible to all pharmacy schools. Background and purpose A student pharmacist's transition from undergraduate coursework into a professional program can be challenging. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education (CAPE) 1 outcomes related to selfawareness refer to the need of student pharmacists to``Identify, create, implement, evaluate, and modify plans for personal and professional development for the purpose of individual growth" and``seek personal, professional, or academic support to address personal limitations." In addition, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) 2 standards 2016 encourage the use of co-curricular activities to``complement, augment and/or advance" affective domain related items or skills. As such, colleges and schools of pharmacy are investigating the best ways to incorporate professional development activities throughout curricula.
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.
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.
Introduction: Student professional identity formation is important for enabling the successful transition between academic education and professional practice. Recognition of this has resulted in significant changes in professional education (e.g., the inclusion of experiential placements and authentic learning experiences). There is limited research that examines how the curricular experience influences pharmacy studentsʼ professional identity formation. Methods: Using focus groups, comprising 82 students from all levels of a four-year Australian undergraduate pharmacy course, this study examined studentsʼ perceptions of their overall curricular experience and examined how these experiences influenced the construction of their professional identities. Results: Our analysis found that the pharmacy students struggled with their professional identity formation. Many were entering the degree with little understanding of what being a pharmacist entailed. Once in the educational context, the nature of the role became both apparent and idealistic but not enacted. Students experienced dissonance between the idealistic notion of pharmacy practice and the realities of placements, and this may have been enhanced by a lack of patient-centered care role models. This struggle left them concluding that the role of the pharmacist was constrained and limited. Conclusions: We argue that professional identity formation needs to be in the foreground from commencement of the degree and throughout the curriculum.
The only way round is through: Professional identity in pharmacy education and practice
Canadian Pharmacists Journal / Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada
Professional identity is a hot topic in the health professions literature. Health educators and leaders around the globe are urgently calling for curricular reform initiatives, aimed at shifting the emphasis from teaching professionalism to supporting professional identity development. 1-4 Professional identities are complex and dynamic, not static, 5 and they can be conceptualized from various theoretical viewpoints. We understand professional identities from a social constructivist perspective: They are "constructed and co-constructed as we participate in day-today social activities and through the use of language and artefacts and within power relations. " 5 Professional identity formation has been stated as a goal of health professions training, and it appears that everyone has jumped onboard, including pharmacy. 6-8 But why? Where did this newfound interest come from? What is the evidence that professional identity formation needs to become an integral part of health professions training? What is the benefit? Why are we embarking on this path in pharmacy-because medicine is? These critical questions are
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2022
To provide an educator-friendly travel guide for supporting professional identity formation (PIF) for pharmacy students. Findings. In contrast to professionalism, which has emphasized externally visible behaviors, professional identity focuses on the internalization of the attitudes, standards, and behavioral norms of a profession, such that one "thinks, acts, and feels" like a member of that profession. Identity, whether personal or professional, is continuously developed in part during interactions with others and in response to internal and external feedback on those interactions. Educators play a critical role in helping students navigate the "provocative moments" (eg, transitions, dissonance) that accompany identity formation. To help educators travel with purpose, several identity formation theories suggest means of creating learning experiences and supporting the development of a professional identity. Additionally, guidebooks for the trip (ie, published literature) provide examples of didactic and experiential teaching approaches that can be used to promote PIF. While further exploration and research are necessary, traveling this journey with colleagues can help members of the Academy succeed in sustainably and effectively infusing intentional PIF within pharmacy education and training. Summary. There are myriad ways for educators to develop and support PIF, which can present a challenge when defining the role that educators play in this complex, dynamic process. Educators must understand the reasoning behind various approaches and the common dialogue used, in order to engage and support learners as their expedition guides on the lifelong journey to professional identity formation.
The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2017
Objective. To determine the benefit of pharmacy work experience on the development of student pharmacists' professional identity. Methods. Students in all four professional years were surveyed using a validated Professional Selfidentity Questionnaire (PSIQ). They were also asked about pharmacy experience prior to matriculation and their performance on Drug Information tests given midway through the P1 year and at the beginning of the P3 year. PSIQ responses and test results were compared based on pharmacy experience. Results. The PSIQ was completed by 293 student pharmacists, for a 67% response rate, with 76% of respondents reporting pharmacy experience prior to matriculation. Statistically higher scores on responses to 6 of the 9 PSIQ Likert-type items were observed from students in the first professional year for those with pharmacy experience; however, only one item in the second year showed differences with none in the third and fourth years. No impact of experience was observed on Top 100 or Top 300 grades. Conclusion. Pre-matriculation pharmacy experience may increase development of professional identity early in the student experience but may have little impact on academic readiness. Schools and colleges of pharmacy hoping to recruit students with an early sense of professional identity should consider adding such experience to their admissions requirements.