Motivating Language and Social Provisions in the Inculcation of Pharmacy Students' Professional Identity.

Professional identity formation in pharmacy students is a multifaceted, dynamic process stimulated through a variety of experiences, including those in structured classrooms, laboratories, experiential settings, and during interprofessional education. Meaningful faculty communications with students are a critical element in the development process.This commentary situates research findings from studies on communication practices within the frameworks of motivating language theory and social provisions theory to demonstrate how specific language from instructors can impact the formation of students' professional identity. Our objective is to review and extrapolate findings from professional pharmacy literature on communication, as well as literature from outside the profession, to demonstrate how specific strategies can aid in the development and reinforcement of pharmacy students' professional identity. Clear, specific, tailored, empathetic communication by instructors during pharmacy student training promotes students' ability to think, act, and feel like valued contributors during the provision of patient care and interprofessional experiences.

Part-Time and Cofunded Pharmacy Faculty and Their Perceptions of Professional and Organizational Identity Formation.

OBJECTIVE: To gain a better understanding of professional and organizational identity formation and workplace climate issues among part-time and cofunded pharmacy faculty. METHODS: This study had a cross-sectional, prospective design using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researchers of this study. The interview guide drew themes from motivating language theory, social provisions, and previous research on professional identity. Pharmacy faculty with varying part-time and cofunded appointments, representing a cross section of demographic characteristics, and working in different types of practice sites and institutions, were invited to participate. RESULTS: Data saturation was reached at 14 participants. Participants had a variety of professional roles, namely teaching and precepting, as well as clinical, research, service, and administrative responsibilities. Three general themes emerged: (1) the struggle with having multiple aspects of professional identity, (2) facing the perception that academia is a "lifestyle" that not all faculty can fully participate, and (3) the need for properly constructed and tailored communication from peers and supervisors. CONCLUSION: A key component to mitigating the struggle with multiple aspects of professional identity and the feeling that part-time and cofunded faculty cannot fully participate in the academic lifestyle seemed to be informed, empathetic, inclusive, and tailored communication from supervisors.

Communication in Pharmacy Higher Education to Improve Work-life and Mitigate Burnout.

Objective. To identify the content, style, timing, tone, and initiation of communication that best connotes "reassurance of worth" from peers and supervisors in pharmacy academia.Methods. This study employed semi-structured interviews to acquire in-depth information from pharmacy faculty through a purposive sampling process. Academicians who had published in the area of work-life and/or were deemed likely to make substantial contributions to the interview were asked to participate. Participants represented a cross section of pharmacy faculty in terms of discipline, institution, and demographic characteristics. An interview guide was constructed based on motivating language theory and provisions of social relationships theory. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and transcribed verbatim. Themes were gleaned using open coding, then audited and checked.Results. Data saturation occurred after eight interviews. Two primary themes emerged: guidance, particularly related to professional development and tenure; and reassurance of worth through invited participation, praise, and/or rewards. Interviewees highlighted the importance of empathetic yet practical language among peers, and supervisor-initiated, meaning-making language rather than generic platitudes.Conclusion. Empathetic, personal language that provides guidance and reassurance of worth can enhance pharmacy faculty contributions and mitigate burnout. Invitations to collaborate are seen by faculty as collegial and engaging. This study demonstrated the usefulness of motivating language theory and social provisions in guiding communications among pharmacy academicians.

A Community Hospital NICU Developmental Care Partner Program: Feasibility and Association With Decreased Nurse Burnout Without Increased Infant Infection Rates.

BACKGROUND: Volunteers can provide staff-directed sensory inputs to infants hospitalized in the NICU, but research on volunteer programs is limited. PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of a developmental care partner (DCP) program in a level III NICU and determine its relationship with provider burnout and infant infection rates. METHODS: DCPs were trained to provide sensory input to infants, based on the behavioral cues observed by the occupational therapists and nursing staff, in medically stable infants. Feasibility was assessed by documenting the process of training and utilizing volunteers, as well as tracking duration and frequency of DCP visits. Staff burnout measures were assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) before and after implementation. Infant infection rates before and after the introduction of volunteers were compared. RESULTS: Seventy-two volunteers were interested, and 25 (35%) completed the DCP competencies and provided sensory exposures to 54 neonates, who were visited an average of 8 times (range 1-15). Twelve (48%) DCPs did once-per-week visits, and 9 (36%) did at least 50 contact hours. MBI-HSS scores for staff emotional exhaustion (P < .001) and depersonalization (P < .006) were lower after DCP implementation. There were no differences in infant infection rates before and after DCP implementation (Fisher exact P = 1.000). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Volunteer-based DCP programs may be feasible to implement in community hospitals and could help reduce staff emotional exhaustion and depersonalization without increasing the incidence of infant infections. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Future research on NICU volunteer programs with larger sample sizes and different infant populations is warranted.