In the professional formation of pharmacists, participation in real-life professional practice occurs mostly in pre-registration training, in the year after completion of the four-year undergraduate MPharm course. As such, development of professional identity and practice are likely to happen predominantly in the pre-registration year. The study is conducted against a background of a sparsity of knowledge about professional formation in pharmacy, particularly in the pre-registration year. The aim of this study is to investigate the professional formation of pharmacy graduates in the pre-registration year. The research questions address what professional practice the graduate engages in during the pre-registration year, how they perceive their own identity and the reasons for this. Understanding professional formation requires a focus on the interplay between agency and structure. As such, Bourdieu's conceptual tools are deployed to explore individual agency and relationships between key players, in a process named becoming a pharmacist. This process is further conceptualised as achieving a feel for the game in which recognising and repositioning in regard to hysteresis is central to success. Via this conceptualisation, Bourdieu's thinking tools are used to describe and understand becoming a pharmacist, shaping the study through their use to inform data collection, analysis and interpretation. Four community pharmacy pre-registration trainees working in the north-west of England were recruited to take part. A case study methodology was chosen to retain the holistic characteristics of real-life events, with qualitative methods used to collect data. Portraiture was chosen as a method of presenting and describing the study's findings. Interview transcripts, observational data, self-selected records from trainee portfolios and researcher field notes were used to construct the portraits. Each portrait was subjected to a critical analysis to understand each trainee's unique experience using the lens of Bourdieu's conceptual thinking tools. A cross portrait analysis was then additionally carried out using key theories of identity and professional practice as well as Bourdieu's conceptual tools. Key findings included that identity and practice were strongly influenced by cultural capital and the existence of a dyadic relationship with the pharmacist tutor. Legal and corporate restrictions on practice constrained the development of professional expertise, which contributed to a period of acute stress experienced immediately upon qualification. The identification of practices of assertion and practices of deference as a way to describe trainee practice and identity was proposed and explored. Conclusions include that practices of assertion and deference can be useful in allowing researchers to unpack the bundles of influences on identity and practice. Through its findings, the study therefore makes a contribution to what is known about professional formation in pharmacy but also more broadly through the use of Bourdieu's conceptual tools to reveal complex relationships between structure and agency.

Class of 2011 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education recommends incorporation of portfolios as part of the pharmacy curriculum. A study was conducted to evaluate students’ perceived benefits of the portfolio process and to gather suggestions for improving the process. METHODS: A questionnaire was designed, administered, and answered by 250 pharmacy first, second, and third year pharmacy students at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. The dependent variable was the students’ perceived benefit of the portfolio process. RESULTS: Students perceived increased benefit if the portfolio helped them: gain an understanding of the expected outcomes, understand the impact of extracurricular activities on attaining competencies, identify what should be learned, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and modify their approach to learning. First year students wanted more examples of portfolios while second and third years suggested more time with their advisor. CONCLUSION: Overall, students perceived the portfolio process as having moderate benefit.

Community Pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers in Canada. Utilizing these cadres in effectively addressing substance abuse and addiction problems would help minimize the health and socioeconomic negative outcomes associated with the disease of addiction. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to: 1) Comprehend pharmacists’ encounters with PWSAD including satisfaction, feelings, situation management, red flags, and outcome(s), 2) Identify skills and educational needs for community pharmacists concerning providing optimum services to PWSAD, 3) Define the types of educational/training programs pharmacists require to improve their services toward PWSAD, 4) Identify immediate needs to improve current services (e.g. referral guide) and inquire about possible obstacles facing community pharmacists in providing services to PWSAD. Qualitative methodology was deemed as the most appropriate method for the research purpose. To recruit study participants, a questionnaire was sent to all community pharmacists in the city of Saskatoon. The survey results also provided general understanding of community pharmacists’ perspectives about addiction. Another survey was sent to all pharmacy schools in Canada, inquiring about the main educational material concerning addiction in undergraduate curricula. The inquiry concerned with the type of educational knowledge covered including pharmacological aspects, social aspects or others. Those pharmacists selected to be interviewed where asked to comment on the education and skill needs for community pharmacists and the suitable means to address such needs. Data analysis revealed four major themes; Work Environment, Lack of Knowledge, Health System and Educational and Training Needs. Each theme represents barriers facing community pharmacists to provide optimum health care for PWSAD. It was evident for educational and training needs that the demand is to have training on the social aspects of the disease such as communication skills and inter-professional interactive learning sessions. The need to focus on the social aspects of addiction was one of the major demands, expressed by participants. This work will influence future educational plans as well as provide suggestions to improve the contemporary educational plans based on a view from the practice field. It is not surprising as the university survey also showed lack of emphasis on the social aspects of addiction within the pharmacy curricula across Canada. Based on research findings, recommendations were categorized to two main streams; recommendations at the undergraduate level and recommendations at the continuous education and practice level. It is recommended to shift the focus of addiction educational material from pharmacology and law endorsement to social issues and patient care at the undergraduate level. On the other hand, implementing inter-professional sessions as well as protocol that pharmacists can follow during their encounter with PWSAD are key recommendations at the continuous education and practice level.

Class of 2008 Abstract / Objectives: Continuing pharmacy education (CPE) programs are required for pharmacists to maintain licensure and necessary to maintain current clinical knowledge. This study attempts to compare the quality of CPE programs from industry sponsored versus non-industry sponsored sources. Methods: Three CE programs were analyzed by comparison to an established guideline source. Diabetes mellitus was selected as the disease state because there was a recently published and widely accepted guideline document available. Two CPE programs were industry sponsored and one was independent of industry. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) guideline document on the management of type 2 diabetes was used to develop a scoring tool. Each CPE program was evaluated for consistency with the ADA guideline, using the scoring tool. The results were analyzed using the Fisher’s exact test. Also, the number of times that a drug name was mentioned in each program was recorded. Results: There was some discordance between the content of the three CPE programs and the ADA guidelines, but no discernible pattern was seen. There was a statistically significant difference between the non-industry sponsored programs. There were some inconsistencies among the three programs relative to “mentions” of drug names, but again no consistent pattern. Conclusions: This work does not provide convincing evidence of bias among industry-sponsored CPE programs. In retrospect, the choice of the specific CPE programs may have been inappropriate considering the nature of the guideline document and the evaluation tool that was developed from it.

The purpose of this study was to design, develop, and administer an Objective, Structured Management Exam (OSME) on management skills for pharmacy students. Pharmacy preceptors for the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy participated in focus groups that identified business, management, and human resource skills needed by pharmacy graduates. Once the skills were identified, gaps were identified for inclusion into the OSMEs. The OSMEs evaluated pharmacy students' performance on four skills: 1) managerial communication (oral and written); 2) conflict resolution; 3) decision-making; and 4) professionalism. The OSME consisted of a role-playing and a writing document. Both were graded using a developed scoring rubric. The role-playing scoring rubric contained 17 skills and the written document scoring rubric contained 8 skills. During the OSME, students interacted with a trained actor and were graded by a judge on their performance. Upon completion of the OSME, students completed a 29-question survey on a) their perceived ability and confidence to accomplish 8 selected skills; b) their opinion about the OSME and suggestions to improve the process in the future; and c) their background characteristics. Many-facet Rasch analysis provided detailed information with which to evaluate content validity and student performance taking into account difficulty of skills, rating scale function of the scoring rubric, judge leniency and severity. Rasch analysis provided detailed information on the scale performance and student ability and confidence. A step-wise linear regression was used to determine if any student characteristics predicted a higher OSME performance score. Ninety-six student pharmacists completed the OSME and ninety-five students completed the questionnaire. No student failed the role-playing scenario and 1 student did not complete the written document. Significant gaps were calculated between the easiest two skills, empty sounds and eye contact. Additionally, the seventeen items did not align with student performance measures. Finally, there were two separate groups of graders. The writing document scoring rubric had poor fit with the model and significant gaps were calculated. Student measures did not adequately align with item difficulty measures. For students' perceived ability, there was no significant change in overall mean student ability scores from before the educational lectures to after the OSME. However, 46% of students (n=44) had a significant change in ability scores. Three significant gaps were calculated between skills a) between decision-making and communication and between communication and active listening on the pre-educational lectures; and b) between decision-making and communication on after the OSMEs. Students appeared confident with their ability on the 8 skills. The overall mean student confidence measure did not significantly change between the three time points: 1) before the practice cases; 2) after the practice cases; and 3) after the OSMEs. However, 46% of students (n=44) had a significant change in their confidence from before the practice cases to after the completion of the OSMEs. Item difficult measures did not appropriately align with student confidence measures, meaning the items were too easy for students. Significant gaps were also calculated: a) between the motivation and communication items and between the communication and active listening items in the before the practice cases responses; b) between the motivation and decision-making items and between the communication and active listening items for the after the practice cases responses; and c) between the motivation and decision-making items; between the decision-making and communication items; and between the communication and active listening items for after the OSME responses. Based on the result of the regression, three characteristics predicted a higher performance score on the role-playing portion of the OSME: 1) previous management experience; 2) previous leadership experience; and 3) the total grade on the educational lecture quizzes. Three characteristics predicted a higher writing document score: 1) age between 26 and 28 years; 2) English as the primary language; and 3) previous pharmacy experience classified as "other" (i.e., pharmacy experience that was not hospital, community, or managed care). This was one of the first studies to develop a role-playing exercise on management skills in pharmacy education. The grading rubrics provided an initial structure for assessing student performance on these management skills. Some changes to the ability questions and the rubrics are suggested in order to improve the content validity. The findings provide the outline for the use of an OSME at schools/colleges of pharmacy as part of their curriculum. As exposure to management scenarios showed higher performance, educators should include these skills in the education of student pharmacists in order to prepare them for a future career in pharmacy.

The 2017-2018 Research and Graduate Affairs Committee (RGAC) was given three charges aimed at helping academic pharmacy address barriers that must be overcome by both students and schools to attract, retain, and support the development of a diverse, well-rounded, and successful graduate student population. These charges were (1) identifying teaching methodologies, tools and opportunities that graduate programs can introduce into curriculum to overcome barriers to success of today’s and tomorrow’s learners; (2) developing a strategy for achieving member support of the 2016-2017 recommended graduate competencies by identifying gaps in and existing examples of courses or opportunities that achieve competency-based pharmacy graduate education; and (3) identifying potential strategies to address identified barriers to pursuing graduate education, especially among under-represented student populations. This report describes attitudes toward and opportunities related to competency-based education in graduation education in colleges and schools of pharmacy, identifies types of tools schools could use to enhance training towards the competency framework developed by the 2016-2017 RGAC, particularly with regards to the so-called power skills, and outlines a role for AACP in facilitating this training. This report also considers a number of barriers, both perceived and real, that potential students encounter when considering graduate training and suggests strategies to understand the impact of and mitigate these barriers. To strengthen competency-based graduate education, the RGAC puts forth two recommendations that AACP develop a toolkit supporting the training of power skills and that AACP should develop or curate programs or tools to support the use of individual development plans (IDPs). The RGAC also puts forth a suggestion to schools that IDPs be implemented for all students. In considering the barriers to pursuing graduate education, the Committee proposes one policy statement that AACP supports the training and development of an increasingly diverse population of researchers at pharmacy schools through active efforts to promote M.S. and Ph.D. education along with Pharm.D. education. Additionally, the Committee provides recommendations that AACP should expand its efforts in career tracking of graduate students to include collection and/or analysis of data that could inform the Academy’s understanding of barriers to pursuing graduate education in pharmacy schools, the AACP Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness should expand upon graduate program data described in the annual Profile of Pharmacy Students report, and finally that AACP should include graduate programs in efforts to increase diversity of students at pharmacy schools.

Class of 2014 Abstract / Specific Aims: Medication adherence is the extent to which patients take their medications correctly and consistently as prescribed.1 The objective of this study was to assess Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)- preaccredited and accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy for adherence course content in their curricula. Methods: The survey link was sent via email to the Department of Pharmacy Practice Chair, or equivalent, at each institution. The data collected via the online survey included information regarding the details of medication adherence curriculum present at the program. All data remained confidential. Chi-square statistical test was used for analysis to compare hours of adherence education taught in older (in existence ≥ 20 years) versus newer (< 20 years) programs. Main Results: Twenty-eight programs responded among 130 inquiries (22% response rate). Of the respondents, only two colleges of pharmacy offered a course on medication adherence, one as an elective and one as required. Common adherence principles were incorporated into other pharmacy courses with the most common topics being counseling, patient education and communication skills. Older programs taught more hours (> 20 hours) focused on adherence compared to the newer programs, but they did not differ significantly (p = 0.39). Conclusion: Despite the low response rate, the findings show a lack of curricular focus on medication adherence, particularly as an individual course. Further studies are needed to identify adherence training received by student pharmacists, and to evaluate the impact of adherence-focused curriculum components on provision of patient care centered on medication adherence by pharmacy practitioners.

Class of 2014 Abstract / Specific Aims: On April 18, 2007, the Arizona legislature passed the Pharmacy Continuous Quality Assurance (CQA) law, with enforced compliance beginning January 1, 2014. With the lengthy lag time between passage of the law and required compliance with the law, a continuing pharmacy education (CPE) seminar was developed to educate Arizona pharmacy personnel about the new requirements. The CPE seminar was evaluated by assessing changes in participant self-reported knowledge, motivation, and awareness regarding the quality assurance legislation and the CQA process. Methods: The CPE seminar took place at the Arizona Pharmacy Association’s Community Pharmacy Academy Conference. Data were collected using a retrospective pre-assessment/post-assessment questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests with a Boniferroni correction. Demographic information were reported using descriptive statistics. Main Results: The response rate was 70%, with 28 of 40 participants completing the questionnaire. Each of the six self-assessment questionnaire statements showed a statistically significant change from pre to post assessment (p = 0.0005). Conclusion: The results show that the law CPE session positively impacted participant self-assessment of knowledge, awareness, and motivation of quality improvement initiatives and medication errors. Follow-up research is needed to determine what impact this CPE session will have in pharmacy practice.

Informed by a sociological approach, this thesis provides an account of the theoretical and empirical context of pharmacy students' undergraduate careers, beginning with the decision to enter higher education and ending with the final undergraduate year of a pharmacy student's education. The main aim of the published work and of the academic field that it contributes to is to advance understanding of why young people choose to study pharmacy (and thus choose pharmacy as a career), and career aspirations and influences over the course of their pharmacy school career. By establishing what influences and shapes pharmacy students' choices this thesis also provides an account of the degree to which career preferences are limited initially by awareness of opportunities, by socialisation and habitus, and how these are related to undergraduate career success.The thesis reports findings from studies using a range of methods including focus groups, surveys, and secondary analysis of pharmacy student data from a number of sources. Subjects investigated by the work are British undergraduate MPharm students and graduates. Numbers applying to study pharmacy, numbers accepted, and numbers entering the MPharm are compared and the relative risk of attrition from the MPharm, are also examined. Findings reported here are relevant to undergraduate pharmacy education policy-makers, heads of pharmacy schools, pharmacist employers, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and to those responsible for pharmacy workforce planning.While the primary aim of the thesis is to improve understanding of (undergraduate) pharmacy careers through the application of a number of sociological theories and perspectives, the thesis also considers the ways that findings can usefully inform pharmacy education and policy agendas.

Evaluating faculty's contribution to the research component of the tripartite mission is based on quantified data, such as number of peer-reviewed articles, impact factors, and the number and amount of grants. In contrast, although effective teachers possess universally agreed-upon qualities, evaluating faculty's teaching excellence can be difficult because of varying criteria. Using objective research criteria and peer review, the ability of faculty to demonstrate teaching excellence may be elevated by the pursuit of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). The continuum of effective teaching, scholarly teaching, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and educational research can demonstrate how this elevation can be possible. Suggested methods for faculty development and institutional change are explored.