Pharmacist personas: A tool to guide learning and career development.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Healthcare Workforce Development
• Professional Identity

Background:

• Global healthcare systems face workforce shortages, leading to policy changes expanding clinical roles.
• The UK aims for a unified "one pharmacy workforce" with pharmacists in advanced patient care and prescribing roles.
• Current training, support, and career progression for pharmacists are fragmented across hospital, primary, and community settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine challenges in achieving a unified pharmacy workforce in the UK.
• To explore the potential of "pharmacist personas" as a tool for professional development.
• To highlight disparities in training and career progression hindering workforce unification.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the UK's "one pharmacy workforce" policy.
• Application of Goffman's dramaturgical theory to understand "pharmacist personas."
• Conceptual framework for using personas to guide learning and career trajectories.

Main Results:

• Significant disparities exist in professional development opportunities across pharmacy sectors.
• "Pharmacist personas" can help visualize future roles and required learning.
• Personas integrate "frontstage" and "backstage" elements within professional identity.

Conclusions:

• Expanding pharmacist roles requires systemic improvements in training and support.
• "Pharmacist personas" offer a novel approach to guide pharmacists' evolving careers.
• A unified pharmacy workforce needs integrated development strategies to meet healthcare demands.