(376) Pharmacy Students Perspective regarding Integration of Professional identity Formation discussion into an APPE Seminar

Trainee Category: Student Pharmacist

Objective : The objective of this evaluation was to determine student preferences and reactions to a professional identity formation (PIF) discussion in an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) seminar sequence.

Methods: A survey was developed to determine APPE students’ perspectives on preferences, value, and acceptability of the PIF seminar discussion. The survey was developed by faculty and pilot-tested by a six P3 students for clarity. APPE students were invited via email to complete the survey at the end of the first 6-week block of 2023 via Qualtrics. The survey consisted of 15-questions; 11 questions used a 4-point Likert scale (1=not at all agree to 4=completely agree). The remaining questions were open-ended or multiple choice: 1) What professional development topics would you suggest for future APPE seminars 2) What proportion of professional development APPE seminar discussions (as opposed to clinical discussion topics) would you prefer? 3) What other feedback do you have regarding the PIF discussion?

Results: Out of 125 students, 116 students (93% response rate) completed the survey. Students rated the environment as safe (3.51) to share their identities, both professional (3.29) and personal (3.27). Most students rated the discussion as valuable (3.0) and timely (3.32). Students did not find this discussion to promote their health and wellness (2.85). Student suggested 1-3 professional development discussions annually. Future seminar topics suggestions included: interviewing, financial planning, negotiating contracts, and imposter syndrome. In “other” feedback students requested clarity in pre-discussion assignment directions.

Conclusions: The PIF discussion was overall well received. Going forward, the PIF discussion will continue to be offered and revised per future student feedback. Additional professional development topics will also be added based on student suggestions.