Survey of attitudes toward career choice among pharmacy students at a private university
Keywords:
Attitude Towards Work, Career Choice, Career Preference, Influencing Factor, Intended Career, Pharmacy StudentAbstract
Background: Since 2006, a six-year pharmacy programme focused on training students in pharmacy practice has been conducted in Japan. The attitudes of the six-year pharmacy students toward career choice are unclear because the programme is relatively new. In this survey, we explored the attitudes toward career choice in students at a private pharmacy college to assist them in their search for a suitable position after graduation.
Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was given to 405 pharmacy students enrolled in their final year at Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan.
Results: The top three influences excluded elective classes for intended career decision were the ‘hospital pharmacy training’, ‘community pharmacy training’, and ‘outside job fairs’. The major three third party influences for final career decision were ‘own interests’, ‘recruiters’, and ‘friends’.
Conclusion: Training at community and hospital pharmacy are crucial programme considerations towards future careers for many students. Educators, including pharmacists and personnel at practice sites need to understand how their activities can influence the future career choice of students.
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