Aiming student pharmacist organizations toward professional success: Mapping student activities to a professional development program

Abstract

IntroductionThis project describes the mapping of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Accreditation Standards to activities of a student pharmacist organization and to assess student perceptions of the process' utility in completing a professional growth and development program (PGDP). MethodsA list of activities from the student pharmacist organization for academic year 2018–2019 was compiled at the start of each semester. ACPE Standards 3 and 4 were mapped to each chapter activity using a spreadsheet. Upon completion, activities matched with appropriate standards were advertised to the organization through email and online sign-up sheets. Students who were active chapter members and participated in the PGDP were recruited to participate in a survey. The survey included multiple choice questions and 5-point Likert type statements. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. ResultsOf our activities for the academic year, 19 (86.3%) matched to at least one element of Standard 3. The majority of our activities matched to an element of Standard 4 (n = 22, 95.5%). A total of 37 participants completed the survey and 83.8% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the mapping process was helpful for completing the PGDP. ConclusionsStudent pharmacist organizations provide many opportunities for professional development. Mapping ACPE Standards 3 and 4 to these activities, along with promotion, was perceived as being very helpful to the membership of this study. This is a relatively easy process that any student pharmacist organization can complete to better help their membership complete professional development programs.