Pharmacy Students' Reflections as They Near Graduation

Type of Submission

Poster

Keywords

Pharmacy, student, first year program, motivation, perseverance

Abstract

This study was conducted as a follow-up to a prior qualitative study completed the first year that Cedarville University accepted freshmen college students into its’ new Doctorate of Pharmacy program. At that time, the students were asked about their motivations for choosing the Pharmacy degree, especially in light of the brand-new nature of the program. The current qualitative study is asking similar and follow-up questions to the same group of students – to see how their perceptions might have changed during the course of the program. The questions address continued motivation, personal emphasis on ministry vs. the science aspect of the degree, as well as other aspects related to the stresses of the program. Students generally indicated that they were pleased with their career choice, and most indicated that they had become more ministry minded throughout the program, in spite of the rigorous scientific demands of the classroom and lab. Many of them did comment on the frustration of being the “guinea pigs”, as in the first year to complete every aspect of the program. However, that frustration was not enough to detract from their desire to complete their degree and work in their chosen field.

Faculty Sponsor or Advisor’s Name

Dr. Ruth Markham

Campus Venue

Stevens Student Center

Location

Cedarville, OH

Start Date

4-1-2015 11:00 AM

End Date

4-1-2015 2:00 PM

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Share

COinS
 
Apr 1st, 11:00 AM Apr 1st, 2:00 PM

Pharmacy Students' Reflections as They Near Graduation

Cedarville, OH

This study was conducted as a follow-up to a prior qualitative study completed the first year that Cedarville University accepted freshmen college students into its’ new Doctorate of Pharmacy program. At that time, the students were asked about their motivations for choosing the Pharmacy degree, especially in light of the brand-new nature of the program. The current qualitative study is asking similar and follow-up questions to the same group of students – to see how their perceptions might have changed during the course of the program. The questions address continued motivation, personal emphasis on ministry vs. the science aspect of the degree, as well as other aspects related to the stresses of the program. Students generally indicated that they were pleased with their career choice, and most indicated that they had become more ministry minded throughout the program, in spite of the rigorous scientific demands of the classroom and lab. Many of them did comment on the frustration of being the “guinea pigs”, as in the first year to complete every aspect of the program. However, that frustration was not enough to detract from their desire to complete their degree and work in their chosen field.