Using Focus Groups to Explore Evolving Perceptions of Student Pharmacists’ Curricular Experiences

• Published in: American journal of pharmaceutical education Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 7122 - 94
• Main Authors: Moseley, Lindsey E., Ford, Channing R., Wilkins, Emily B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.01.2020; American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy; Elsevier Limited; American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• Subjects: academic entitlement; Adult; Analysis; Collaboration; Critical thinking; Curricula; Curriculum - statistics & numerical data; Data Analysis; Drugstores; Education, Pharmacy - statistics & numerical data; Experiential learning; Feedback; Female; Focus groups; Focus Groups - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Information management; Learning; Learning Processes; Male; Medical education; Millennials; Perception; Pharmaceutical Education; Pharmacies - statistics & numerical data; Pharmacists; Pharmacists - psychology; Pharmacists - statistics & numerical data; Pharmacy; Phenomenology; problem-based learning; Professional development; professional identity; Professional Role - psychology; Professionalism; Qualitative research; Qualitative Research in Pharmacy Education; self-authorship; seven vectors; Skill development; Student Development; Students, Pharmacy - psychology; Students, Pharmacy - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching Methods; University students; Young Adult; seven vectors; professional identity; problem-based learning; academic entitlement; self-authorship
• ISSN: 0002-9459; 1553-6467
• DOI: 10.5688/ajpe7122

Objective. To explore student pharmacists’ shared experiences as they transitioned through the first three years of a Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum, from dependent learners to autonomous contributors. Methods. The researchers used interpretive phenomenology to examine the lived experiences of student pharmacists. Previously gathered focus group data for 309 student pharmacists from the 2015-2016 academic year were explored. A step-wise approach to data analysis was used to perpetuate the natural emergence of themes and alignment with theory. Utilizing Arthur Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Identity Development as a lens, the researchers analyzed findings related to self-realization and identification of purpose. Results. The research team identified several themes associated with the teaching and learning process: professionalism, autonomy, and managing the expectations of the curriculum. A connection between the researchers’ findings and Chickering’s seven vectors was seen as students’ comments demonstrated their progress along the vectors over three academic years. Conclusion. This exploration provided a glimpse into the lived experiences of student pharmacists at three different stages in their journey from dependent learners to autonomous contributors. By comparing students in one year with those in the next, the researchers were able to see the evolution that occurred over time as students became self-authored individuals, which is the ideal outcome for pharmacy graduates.