(342) Assessment of Professional Identity Formation and Influencing Factors in Student Pharmacists

Objective : To determine if professional identity formation (PIF) varies among student pharmacists based on class year and to identify predictors of PIF.

Methods: A survey instrument was developed and offered to all University of Houston College of Pharmacy students in Spring 2024. The instrument included items intended to measure participant demographics, pharmacy-related work experience, organizational involvement, organizational leadership, mentorship, and research involvement. The nine-item Macleod Clark Professional Identity Scale (MCPIS-9) was used to measure PIF. Items on the MCPIS-9 are scaled on a 5-point Likert scale anchored from strongly disagree to strongly agree. MCPIS-9 scores range from 9 to 45 with higher scores indicating higher PIF. As MCPIS-9 scores were left skewed, the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine if MCPIS-9 scores differed between class years. Next, respondents were ranked into tertiles and ordinal logistic regression with stepwise selection was used to identify participant characteristics associated with higher MCPIS-9 scores.

Results: Completed surveys were submitted by 244 of 443 students (55.1% response rate). The median MCPIS-9 scores were 37 (IQR 35-41), 36 (IQR 32-38), 36 (IQR 34-40), and 38 (IQR 34-41) for first-, second-, third-, and fourth-year students, respectively (p=.09). Ordinal logistic regression demonstrated that white students, students who attended a pharmacy conference, and students with pre-pharmacy work experience had higher PIF (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.05-3.58; OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.10-2.91; OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.12-3.36, respectively).

Conclusions: Year of study was not associated with PIF. Race, pharmacy conference experience, and pre-pharmacy work experience were predictors of PIF. Ensuring that all students have equal opportunity to participate in extracurricular employment and professional opportunities is likely to promote PIF in student pharmacists.