Using drawings to probe the affective experience of pharmacy students on rotation: A pilot study

The objective of this study was to use drawings to assess the global affective experience of pharmacy students on rotation.

Students nearing graduation were asked to submit a drawing that captured the essence of their Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE). Drawings were analyzed qualitatively using inductive content analysis and the affects portrayed in the drawings were coded, themed and categorized.

Of the 22 (21% response rate) submissions, four categories emerged as positive, negative, bisemous (can be positive or negative), and mixed.

The results from the study demonstrated a range of feelings such as easiness, inadequateness, busyness, tiredness, learning, and excitement. The drawings also appeared superficially to fit well into the flow model of subjective experience.

Drawings by pharmacy students provided insight into their feelings about their rotations. Further studies are needed to determine how this method can be utilized to record affective experiences and how they can be used to improve experiential learning.