(477) Utilizing Transformative Learning Theory to Enhance Professional Identity Formation

Objective : To analyze the impact of a Transformative Learning Theory (TLT)-based toolkit on pharmacy students' professional identity formation (PIF) self-evaluation using the Professional Self Identity Questionnaire (PSIQ-9) and Macleod Clark Professional Identity Scale (MCPIS-9) questionnaires.

Methods: This prospective, interventional cohort study included pre-clinical pharmacy students at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy in the Fall 2023 semester of a hospital skills-based course. All students within the course completed the TLT-based toolkit. The toolkit consisted of disorienting-dilemma vignettes paired with TLT-based reflective questions. Study participants provided baseline demographics and completed the PSIQ-9 and MCPIS-9 at the baseline, midpoint, and endpoint of the course. The primary outcome was the mean difference in questionnaire item scores from baseline to endpoint using the Wilcoxon-Signed Rank Test. Secondary outcomes included analyzing the mean difference between baseline and midpoint and midpoint and endpoint.

Results: Seventy-nine pharmacy students were eligible. Eleven students (14%) completed both questionnaires at all time points, and 39 students (49%) completed both questionnaires at the baseline and midpoint. When comparing baseline and endpoint scores, differences were found in only two questions between both questionnaires. On the PSIQ-9, a mean difference in the question related to teaching others was significant (+0.64 [p <.05]), and a significant mean difference on the MCPIS-9 related to feeling ashamed of the profession (-1.27 [p <.05]). No significance was found for the MCPIS-9 between the baseline and midpoint. Three questions related to communication, using patient records, and teaching others were found to be different for the PSIQ-9 at baseline and midpoint (p <.05).

Conclusions: The TLT-based toolkit had minimal impact on students’ self-evaluation PIF based on the PSIQ-9 and MCPIS-9 questionnaires over a 15-week course.