Personality traits and personal values as retail pharmacy choice predictors in the context of pharmaceutical care requirements

Pharmacists implementing and carrying out Pharmaceutical Care (PhC) need to possess interpersonal ("soft") competencies, similar to physicians, as well as the personality predisposition necessary to maintain effective interpersonal communication involved in a therapeutic relationship. This thesis agrees with John L. Holland's congruence theory according to which the decision to take up a given profession is a specific expression of personality.

The presented study aims to examine the premise that a specific personality may be a predictor for the career choices made by pharmacy students that entail building a therapeutic relationship with the patient as part of practising PhC.

The study was conducted in a group of 211 students at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University in Lublin, ages 21-30 (M = 23.17; SD = 1.26). The reference group (n = 83) was composed of respondents declaring preference for a professional path that implies direct contact with the patient (mainly retail pharmacy in community pharmacies). The control group was composed of students who declared preference for a professional path which does not entail direct contacts with patients. The study employed the Polish version of the NEO-FFI Personality Inventory and the Schwartz Value Survey.

There are three key predictors of choosing a particular form of professional activity implying a direct contact with patients. These include the personality traits of neuroticism and openness to experience (negative predictors), as well as the value meta-category of conservation (the strongest positive predictor).

The presented results suggest the existence of a specific personality characteristic partly favourable for work in direct contact with patients, but not towards the implementation of more innovative forms of practising pharmacy.