Now a trainee professional

As a result of their PRTP and developing a professional identity, participants had a strong vision of the kind of pharmacist they wanted to be when qualified. This in turn had an impact on the type of student they wanted to be on return to university, hence the category now a trainee professional. Participants became determined to behave professionally and learn all they could, so that they were able to help patients.

The properties and dimensions of now a trainee professional are summarised in the table below:

Table 9.6 Table summarising the properties and dimensions of now a trainee professional

Property Dimension

Behaviours and attitudes Unprofessional---Professional Motivation to learn Unmotivated---Motivated

9.2.1. Behaviours and attitudes

Participants felt an increased responsibility as students, and began to see themselves as somehow different to other students within the university. They also began to realise the value of the “Code of Conduct for pharmacy students” (GPhC, 2010; GPhC, 2012b) and to view themselves as now a trainee

professional. Participants described how their attitude as a student had

become more professional as a result of completing their PRTP:

“I feel like you take it a lot more like professionally. Like it feels a lot more like a job and you’re working towards a career rather than you’re just coming to uni” #11, p15.

“I think I’ve become more professional because I actually learnt and realised you know, I don’t wanna do this. I wanna talk to patients more” #13, p30.

"I am here as a student and as a trainee” #14, p22.

Other participants felt their attitude had not changed because they were already professional:

“I don’t think it gives the, gives it any more importance I think it just […] makes it easier to put into real situations because I’ve been there for six months.”#4, p29.

“I don’t think pre-reg probably did that much with, with contributing to lessons and stuff. I’ve always been quite like that” #7, p25.

Participants also noticed this change is some of their peers on return to university:

“I think you do see a bit more maturity […] a bit more of a seriousness about them” #9, p2.

Participants were however aware of peers who they felt had not undergone this realisation and were still behaving unprofessionally:

“Maybe they think that’s not important. They think something else is important for them” #3, p31.

“This isn’t school you know, you’re not forced to be here […] you probably don’t even have to turn up to this lecture […] people talking as well is really annoying.” #10, p28.

One participant told of how she still behaved in a way she considered to be unprofessional at university, but that there is a clear difference between being a student and a qualified pharmacist:

“I am a totally different person at work […] because I think, when I’m at Uni I can chill out […] I feel a bit naughty ‘cause I’m at school” #2, p39.

“Is there a line that you step over and before that line you’re

a student it doesn’t matter and after that line you’re a pharmacist?

There is yes. I think there is a line.

And how do you know where that line is?

I don’t, I don’t know because I always know my boundaries and I don’t know how I know those boundaries but I always do” #2, p52.

9.2.2. Motivation to learn

The transition to a trainee professional often also resulted in a change to participants’ motivation to learn. They put more emphasis on learning whilst on their PRTP:

“If I’m on study time and you’re dragging me in I don’t think that’s right.” #1, p16.

“I really enjoyed reading the PJ (Pharmaceutical Journal) […] it was interesting reading all the news bits and things that had changed and the stock issues with drugs and things like that and what’s gone off the market, what’s coming back on” #5, p19. “I’ve done it all independently myself. I used to have my learning objectives […] work towards it, if anything that (I) haven’t come across […] for example, probably do warfarin clinic which (the) next door surgery used to run” #6, p5.

They were also more motivated to learn when they returned to the university:

“So it’s changed the way you study would you say?

Yes definitely. I think a lot of, a lot of us have said that we’ve come back to uni with a different attitude. Not as a student but as a professional.” #2, p14.

“I’ve got to the point where if I’m interested in something or I’m a bit confused about something I’ll make an effort to look it up” #5, p37.

“I think I’m much more enthusiastic […] I haven’t got any hospital experience so that really pushes me to see more before I graduate” #6, p31.

“So I mean like whereas as before like I missed like a lot more lectures and that, like this year I wouldn’t miss anything ‘cause I feel like it probably is relevant.” #11, p15.

Participants did however admit to being less motivated to learn subjects that they perceived to be less useful to a qualified pharmacist:

“I still approach it in the same way because obviously from a self- interested point of view, all the exams count the same […] but in terms of thinking oh that’s something I’ll need to keep in my head and learn after this exam and perhaps that’s where the difference comes in. #8, p20.

“It’s a really enjoyable subject that I didn’t really mind learning, I […] was interested but perhaps the bulk of my revision was on the hospital module and consultation skills” #10, p27.

9.2.3. Link with other categories

As previously mentioned, now a trainee professional was a clear consequence of developing a professional identity. As participants developed a vision of the kind of pharmacist they wanted to be, they also considered what they needed to do to get themselves there. They began to internalise the professional norms and became highly motivated to learn; they did not want to be become the unprofessional pharmacist with insufficient knowledge. In turn, their learning and change in attitude also fed back into the development of their professional identity, as illustrated by the double-headed arrow in Figure 7.1.