An Exploratory Assessment of Epistemic Curiosity in Students at Three Doctor of Pharmacy Programs

Abstract

Objective. To determine the level of epistemic curiosity in a sample of student pharmacists from three Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs as well as any differences in epistemic curiosity levels that exist between programs and with regard to professional year. Methods. Litman's Epistemic Curiosity Scale (ECS) was administered to student pharmacists at three different PharmD programs. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and overall mean ECS scores as well as mean scores on epistemic curiosity motivated by intellectual interest (I-type) and informational deprivation (D-type) were compared among student pharmacists at the three institutions using analysis of variance. Reliability analyses were also performed on the data. Results. A total of 569 out of 1143 eligible students responded to the survey, for an overall response rate of 49.8%. The mean overall ECS score was 27.6 (SD=4.9). Mean I-type epistemic curiosity was 14.9 (SD=2.8) overall, but was statistically different among the schools. Mean D-type epistemic curiosity was 12.7 (SD=3.2) overall, but was statistically similar among the programs. Overall, the data demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of .81. Conclusion. This study was the first to characterize epistemic curiosity in student pharmacists and included data from multiple years and multiple programs. Future analyses should investigate associations between epistemic curiosity and other factors of interest to help elucidate how better understanding epistemic curiosity or enhancing it in student pharmacists may help facilitate student success.