Professional Identity Formation (Part 3)
Special Host\xa0Timothy Bloom, Ph.D. - Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor, Bernard J Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University\xa0 - and Guests Heather Petrelli, MA, Ph.D. - Associate Dean of Students Affairs, Taneja College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida - and Teresa O'Sullivan, Pharm.D. - Director of Experiential Education Scholarship and Metrics, School of Pharmacy, University of Washington - talk with us about how faculty can facilitate professional identity formation.\nKey Lessons\nFaculty and preceptors play a critical role in students' formation of their professional identity.\nColleges/schools are now beginning to introduce the concept of professional identity to their students and faculty.\nExperiential education and practice-based experiences are critical to professional identity formation.\nPreceptors and faculty can promote reflection by asking questions about authentic practice-based experiences.\nExplore the why - what is the motivation?\xa0 Help students to identify their values, their future goals, and how their (current) behavior reflects (or fail to reflect) those values and goals.\xa0 Use motivational interviewing strategies to create cognitive dissonance when appropriate.\nEarly and authentic practice experiences are important. Conversations with students about their journey toward "feeling like a pharmacist" can prompt reflection.\nAssessing professional identity formation is a major challenge. How will we know if the curriculum is building professional identity and preparing students well?\xa0 This is an area ripe for new evaluation models and scholarship.\nFor more information about professional identity formation, read the\xa0Report of the 2020-2021 AACP Student Affairs Committee: A Pathway to Professional Identity Formation