A case study on the first professional experiences of recently graduated pharmacists: Professional identity formation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2025.251.8395Keywords:
Pharmacy, Professional identification, Quality researchAbstract
Background: To become a community pharmacist in Türkiye, it is necessary to gain experience as an assistant pharmacist in a community pharmacy for a minimum of one year after graduation. This study aimed to explore the experiences of recently graduated pharmacists who have experienced assistant pharmacy practice (APP), a one-year training alongside community pharmacists in Türkiye, focusing on various aspects of this practice, particularly professional identity formation (PIF).
Methods: A qualitative approach was used to achieve this objective. A case study design using in-depth interviews allowed participants to describe their lived and perceived experiences in their own words.
Results: Twenty pharmacists (15 females and 5 males) were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the data: (1) contributions of assistant pharmacy practice to PIF, (2) challenges of this practice, (3) stages of PIF during this practice, and (4) pharmacists' perceptions of their roles at the conclusion of the PIF process.
Conclusion: Considering the stages in question and the difficulties encountered in the practice, as acknowledged by the relevant authorities, it is anticipated that PIF during the APP period could be facilitated, and pharmacists' perspectives on the practice could change.
References
Arslan, M., Tarhan, N., & Sevgi, Ş. (2020a). Evaluating assistant pharmacist practice by SWOT analysis from the perspective of pharmacy faculty students: A focus group study. Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Lokman Hekim Tıp Tarihi ve Folklorik Tıp Dergisi, 10, 70‒76. https://doi.org/10.31020/mutftd.612203
Arslan, M., Çoba, E. S., & Şar, S., (2020b). Pharmacy profession from the perspective of female pharmacists. Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University, 44, 220‒232. https://doi.org/10.33483/jfpau.675051
Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The qualitative report, 13, 544‒559. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1573
Bissell, B. D., Johnston, J. P., Smith, R. R., Newsome, A. S., Thompson Bastin, M. L., Abdul-Mutakabbir, J., Barlow, A., Barlow, B., Berger, K., & Crow, J. R. (2021). Gender inequity and sexual harassment in the pharmacy profession: evidence and call to action. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 78, 2059‒2076. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxab275
Briceland, L. L., Dudla, C., Watson, A., & Denvir, P. (2023). Exploring the impact of a vicarious learning approach on student pharmacists’ professional identity formation using a simulated pharmacist–patient encounter. Pharmacy, 11, 177. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy11060177
Bulut, S., & Bilgener, E. (2021). Assistant pharmacist practices in Turkey: Pharmacists’ perspectives. Journal of Faculty of Pharmacy of Ankara University, 45, 491‒503. https://doi.org/10.33483/jfpau.930368
Chadha, A., Charrois, T. L., & Hall, J. (2022). Moving beyond professionalism: Pharmacy students understanding of professionalism and professional identity. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 14, 972‒981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2022.07.010
Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage Publications.
De Castro Araújo-Neto, F., Dos Santos, L. G., Tavares, T. M. A., Da Fonseca, F. L., Prado, F. O., Silva, R. D. O. S., Mesquita, A. R., & De Lyra Jr, D. P. (2024). Teaching strategies for professional identity education in pharmacy: a scoping review. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 88, 100597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100597
den Boer, L., Klimstra, T. A., & Denissen, J. J. (2021). Associations between the identity domains of future plans and education, and the role of a major curricular internship on identity formation processes. Journal of adolescence, 88, 107‒119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.02.005
Edwards, D. J. (2020). Professional identity formation: A shared responsibility for academia and pharmacists. Canadian Pharmacists Journal/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 153, 18‒20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1715163519892206
Eldooma, I., Maatoug, M., & Yousif, M. (2023). Outcomes of pharmacist-led pharmaceutical care interventions within community pharmacies: narrative review. Integrated Pharmacy Research and Practice, 12, 113‒126. https://doi.org/10.2147/IPRP.S408340
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1981). Effective evaluation: Improving the usefulness of evaluation results through responsive and naturalistic approaches. Jossey-Bass.
Gunaseelan, S., Demps, E., Galvan, A. M., Abu-Baker, A., Tanzer, K., & Reddy, I. K. (2023). A qualitative study of Underrepresented Minority (URM) student pharmacists’ intersectionality and professional identity formation. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 87, 100543. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100543
Holden, M., Buck, E., Clark, M., Szauter, K. & Trumble, J. (2012). Professional identity formation in medical education: The convergence of multiple domainsed. HEC forum, 24, 245‒255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-012-9197-6
Ilardo, M. L., & Speciale, A. (2020). The community pharmacist: perceived barriers and patient-centered care communication. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17, 536. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020536
Irwin, A. N., Gray, M., Ventricelli, D., Boggis, J. S., Bratberg, J., Floyd, A. S., Silcox, J., Hartung, D. M., & Green, T. C. (2024). “I go out of my way to give them an extra smile now:” A study of pharmacists who participated in Respond to Prevent, a community pharmacy intervention to accelerate provision of harm reduction materials. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 20, 512‒519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.02.001
Kellar, J., Paradis, E., Van Der Vleuten, C. P., Oude Egbrink, M. G., & Austin, Z. (2020). A historical discourse analysis of pharmacist identity in pharmacy education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84, ajpe7864. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7864
Kellar, J., Singh, L., Bradley-Ridout, G., Martimianakis, M. A., Van Der Vleuten, C. P., Oude Egbrink, M. G., & Austin, Z. (2021). How pharmacists perceive their professional identity: A scoping review and discursive analysis. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 29, 299‒307. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpp/riab020
Kennie-Kaulbach, N., Gormley, H., Davies, H., Whelan, A. M., Framp, H., Price, S., & Janke, K. K., (2023). Indicators, influences, and changes in professional identity formation in early experiential learning in community pharmacy. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 15, 414‒426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2023.04.012
King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (2002). The Reflective Judgment Model: Twenty years of research on epistemic cognition. In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 37–61). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Kuckartz, U. (2014). Qualitative text analysis: A guide to methods, practice and using software. Sage.
Lake, J. D., Barnsley, J., Lofters, A., & Austin, Z. (2024). A Goffmanian analysis of impact of unclear professional identity and role negotiation of pharmacists in primary care: A multiple case study. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 20(8), 768‒777. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.04.016
Lincoln, Y. S., Lynham, S. A., & Guba, E. G. (2011). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited. The Sage handbook of qualitative research, 4, 97‒128.
Liu, E. Y., Batten, J. N., Merrell, S. B., & Shafer, A. (2018). The long-term impact of a comprehensive scholarly concentration program in biomedical ethics and medical humanities. BMC Medical Education, 18, 204. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1311-2
Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD Studies using qualitative interviews. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-11.3.1428
Ministry of Health. (2014). About pharmacists and pharmacies law. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=6197&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=3
Morse, J. M. (2015). Critical analysis of strategies for determining rigor in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative health research, 25, 1212‒1222. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315588501
O’sullivan, T. A., Allen, R. A., Bacci, J. L., & O’sullivan, A. C. (2023). A qualitative study of experiences contributing to professional identity formation in recent pharmacy graduates. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 87, 100070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2023.100070
Özçelikay, G., & Zubarioglu, S. (2022). Internship programmes in the pharmacy faculties and their compliance with the standards: A study in Turkey. Pharmacy Education, 22(1), 116‒128. https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2022.221.116128
Parker, C., Scott, S., & Geddes, A. (2019). Snowball sampling. SAGE research methods foundations. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526421036831710
Pharmacy Faculties Deans Council. (2019a). Internship core training program. https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Kurumsal/egitim_ogretim_dairesi/Ulusal-cekirdek-egitimi-programlari/eczacilik_cep.pdf
Pharmacy Faculties Deans Council (2019b). National pharmacy core educational program https://www.yok.gov.tr/Documents/Kurumsal/egitim_ogretim_dairesi/Ulusal-cekirdek-egitimi-programlari/eczacilik_cep.pdf
Qowimah, S. N., Almahira, K. J., Rahma, D. A., Satrio, A. B., Nuzul, H. M., Puteri, S. N. Y., Lusiana, N., & Andyarini, E. N. (2021). Relationship between self confidence and self awareness with effective communication in students. Indonesian Psychological Research, 3, 109‒120. https://doi.org/10.29080/ipr.v3i2.565
Qudah, B., Thakur, T., & Chewning, B. (2021). Factors influencing patient participation in medication counseling at the community pharmacy: A systematic review. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 17, 1863‒1876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.03.005
Quinn, G., Lucas, B., & Silcock, J. (2020). Professional identity formation in pharmacy students during an early preregistration training placement. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84, ajpe7804. https://doi.org/10.1016/10.5688/ajpe7804
Seubert, L. J., Whitelaw, K., Hattingh, L., Watson, M. C., & Clifford, R. M. (2018). Interventions to enhance effective communication during over-the-counter consultations in the community pharmacy setting: A systematic review. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 14, 979‒988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2017.12.001
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage publications, Inc.
Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge University Press.
Watson, K. E., Schindel, T. J., Chan, J. C., Tsuyuki, R. T., & Al Hamarneh, Y. N. (2023). A photovoice study on community pharmacists’ roles and lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 19, 944‒955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.03.005
