A Qualitative Study of Experiences Contributing to Professional Identity Formation in Recent Pharmacy Graduates.

OBJECTIVE: A professional identity has been described as "an individual thinking, acting, and feeling" like a person within the profession. The objective of this study was to learn about professional identity formation (PIF) in recent graduates of a pharmacy program. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with students graduating from a doctor of pharmacy degree program. Investigators performed a thematic content analysis of interview transcripts. RESULTS: Participants were from community pharmacy practice (4), residencies (4), industry (1), and ambulatory care (1). At the time of the interview, participants were a range of 5-13 months out from graduation. Analysis of the data revealed 4 thematic findings. First, thinking and acting like a pharmacist occurred frequently while in school but feeling like a pharmacist occurred mostly after graduation. Second, feeling like a pharmacist meant participants felt confident in their knowledge base and ability to independently make decisions. Third, real-world practice is critical to PIF, particularly through interactions with patients. Finally, feedback, mentoring, and reflection support PIF and can aid in reconciling the tensions between concepts taught in school and experiences in practice. CONCLUSIONS: In this qualitative analysis of data about PIF obtained from recent graduates from a pharmacy school, we found that thinking and acting like a pharmacist preceded feeling like a pharmacist; feeling like a pharmacist involved confidence in the ability to work autonomously; feedback, mentoring, and reflection on experiences supported PIF; and real-world experiences were critical to PIF.

Addressing Unmet Patient Care Needs Through Curricular Development of Student Pharmacist Leadership and Entrepreneurial Skills.

Objective. To develop, deliver, and evaluate an innovative curriculum designed to increase student pharmacists' skills and confidence in addressing unmet patient care needs and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) Triple Aim goals in the community pharmacy setting. Methods. Course modules developed collaboratively between the University of Washington and Washington State University focused on student pharmacist exposure to and direct application of leadership theory in addressing real world challenges. Both programs delivered the curriculum to all second-year student pharmacists during the fall 2015 and fall 2016 semesters. Student teams were asked to identify a new or enhanced service for a community pharmacy based on a needs assessment and the IHI's Triple Aim goals. Students completed precourse, postcourse, and retrospective assessments of their confidence, comfort level in leadership theory application, and project implementation. Effectiveness of the project pitch and team dynamics were assessed. Precourse, postcourse, and retrospective assessments of individual student progress in leadership, innovation, self-awareness, and professionalism also were completed. Results. For all confidence questions, a significant relationship was found between mean precourse and postcourse scores. A comparison of students' postcourse scores and their retrospective reflection scores indicated an increase in confidence to lead. At the conclusion of the course, the students reported improved confidence in their ability to communicate decisions (73%), create a vision (64%), and form a guiding coalition (55%). Conclusion. A five-module curriculum with corresponding project proposal successfully increased the confidence and comfort level of student pharmacists' in their leadership skillset.

Suggested pharmacy practice laboratory activities to align with pre-APPE domains in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.

OUR SITUATION: The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education outlines ability statements that pharmacy students should be able to demonstrate prior to beginning their Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs). Practice laboratory courses offer extensive opportunities for students to participate in activities and assessments that enable them to meet the objectives outlined in the Pre-APPE Core Domains in Standards 2016. This review identifies selected published literature, activities, and assessment methods that can be adapted and implemented in practice laboratory courses to help achieve the abilities outlined within the Pre-APPE Core Domains. METHODOLOGICAL LITERATURE REVIEW: The Medline database and journals related to pharmacy education were searched to identify activities and assessments for each domain. Search terms for each core domain were extracted from the domain titles, ability statements, and performance competencies and coupled with "laboratory" or "lab." "Pharmacy" was also added as a search term when searching the Medline database. Preference was given to example activities published in the last 15 years. Abstracts and activities based on author experience were also included. OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS: Specific examples of how activities and assessments can be included in practice laboratories to develop or refresh skills identified in the pre-APPE core domains were described. POTENTIAL IMPACT: The practice laboratory setting is an ideal place for students to learn and practice the skills necessary to demonstrate readiness for APPEs. This paper serves as a resource for instructors, curriculum committees, or pharmacy programs looking for ideas to expand specific training or develop particular skill areas.