Investigating student pharmacist perceptions of professional engagement using a modified Delphi process

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Professional Development
• Student Pharmacist Training

Background:

• Professional engagement is vital for student pharmacists' development.
• Defining professional engagement and its associated activities is necessary for structured learning.
• Previous research has not clearly delineated engaging and disengaging factors in pharmacy education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a consensus definition of professional engagement.
• To identify and categorize activities and characteristics that promote or hinder professional engagement among student pharmacists.
• To inform the design of effective learning experiences in pharmacy programs.

Main Methods:

• A modified Delphi process involving student pharmacists across two rounds.
• Round 1 focused on gathering qualitative input on professional engagement.
• Round 2 utilized a 5-point Likert scale to assess consensus on identified items.

Main Results:

• A consensus definition of professional engagement was developed.
• All characteristics of engaging activities reached consensus, while 25% of disengaging characteristics did.
• A high consensus rate (78%) was achieved for professionally engaging activities, but none for disengaging activities.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a framework for understanding and fostering professional engagement in student pharmacists.
• The presence of specific engaging characteristics within learning activities appears more critical than the activities themselves.
• Findings can guide the creation of more effective and professionally enriching educational experiences for future pharmacists.