Guided professional identity formation framework: A model for mentorship-driven growth in pharmacy students

Professional identity formation (PIF) is a core outcome of pharmacy education, yet many programs lack structured, longitudinal approaches to help students develop the values, behaviors, and self-concepts required for evolving pharmacist roles. In response, the School of Pharmacy developed the Guided Professional Identity Formation (GPIF) framework to intentionally integrate PIF across the curriculum, co-curriculum, and experiential learning with mentorship as a central mechanism.

A faculty taskforce designed the GPIF framework using five developmental stages (Awareness, Exploration, Formation, Identity Integration, and Professional Attainment) embedded throughout required coursework, co-curricular activities, and practice experiences. Guided mentorship, reflective practice, and structured skill development were aligned with each stage. Early activities build self-awareness and values, while later stages emphasize clinical reasoning, ethics, and interprofessional practice. To illustrate early implementation outcomes, preliminary data were collected from first-year students' course-based reflections (n = 53) and co-curricular reflections (n = 33). A mixed deductive-inductive coding process identified themes reflecting students' emerging professional values, motivations, communication skills, advocacy perspectives, and sense of responsibility.

The GPIF framework provides a replicable, mentorship-centered approach for embedding PIF into pharmacy programs and offers actionable strategies for fostering reflective, resilient, and community-oriented future pharmacists. Early findings demonstrate that foundational coursework supports the development of knowledge, skills, and motivation, while co-curricular activities deepen communication, teamwork, advocacy, and community engagement. Lower-frequency references to role modeling and mentorship indicate areas for targeted improvement. This model may be adapted to other colleges and schools of pharmacy seeking to strengthen professional identity and learner-centered development.