Pharmacy students' perceptions of their profession relative to other health care professions

Abstract

Objectives (1) To investigate pharmacy students' perceptions of 10 occupations within the medical and allied professions: community pharmacists, dentists, dietitians, general medical practitioners (GPs), hospital pharmacists, medical specialists, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and social workers. (2) To explore students' perceptions of community and hospital pharmacists at different stages of a four‐year undergraduate programme and at the year of pre‐registration training. Method A 90‐item questionnaire was administered to 543 pharmacy undergraduates and 95 graduates undergoing their pre‐registration year training in 2001. Setting Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Australia. Key findings Students perceived the health care professions along three major dimensions, relating to “empathy”, “potency” and “expertise”. On an empathy dimension, students rated community pharmacists the highest and medical specialists the lowest. On a potency dimension, students rated medical specialists the most powerful, community and hospital pharmacists significantly lower, and nurses the lowest. On an expertise dimension, students rated medical specialists the highest and dietitians the lowest. A significant pattern of differences was noted in students' perceptions and a possible decline was identified in the potency rating of pharmacists at different stages of the pharmacy programme. Conclusion These differences may be attributed to the differences in the students' value systems, skills and experiences, the influence of reference groups and the content and structure of the educational and training programme in each year.

Psychometric item analysis and validation of the Indonesian version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS)

“…The first-year students could answer this question by seeing this statement as contrary to their understanding. Many studies of students' perception about career and profession show that first-year students give positive responses about their future career as a physician, nurses or pharmacist (Kritikos, Watt, Krass, Sainsburry, & BosnicAnticevich, 2003;Law & Arthur, 2003;Rudland & Mires, 2005;Watmough, Waddelove, & Jaeger, 2009), whereas the advanced students' views toward their profession or other professions were acquired from teachers, media or prior work experiences. If students encountered unclear tasks and the overlapping of RR, then students would think that their professional role is not clear (Hall, 2005).…”

Students’ Vocational Choices and Voluntary Action: A 12-Nation Study

“…People's group affiliation, in this case a vocational milieu or educational circle, plays an important role in developing the norms and values of both the group and the individual (Bargal 1981;Terry et al 1999). Studies on socialization to professions, such as in education and health care (Crow 2007;Kritikos et al 2003;Mendoza 2007), show that people learn the skills and abilities and acquire the needed education and training to become professionals, but they also learn the common values and expected behavior of their colleagues.…”

Validation of an Empathy Scale in Pharmacy and Nursing Students

“…19,20 The ability to demonstrate empathy should be considered during the admission process for the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree program, included as a learning outcome, and taught in the communication courses. [19][20][21][22] In baccalaureate nursing education, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) also emphasizes the importance of empathy and caring as part of the professional role and of all healthcare interactions. 23 Therefore, integrating activities within the curriculum, such as interprofessional experiences, experiential education, geriatric electives, and simulation games that improve health professions students' empathy toward different patient populations is needed to promote patient-centered care.…”