Professionalism development and assessment in the pre-registration pharmacist placement in England: transformative moments and maturation periods.

Objectives: Development of new patient-facing roles for pharmacists and reports of poor patient care in the UK has led to questions concerning how pharmacists develop professionalism. This study explored how professionalism is developed and assessed during the post-graduation year in practice or pre-registration placement. The perspectives of two staff at the professional regulator UK (General Pharmaceutical Council), eight service users, seven pre-registration trainees, and 12 pre-registration tutors were recruited.

Methods: An interpretative paradigm was adopted. Data collection involved a semi-structured group interview, focus groups and a qualitative e-questionnaire. An inductive reasoning approach informed data analysis and interpretation.

Key Findings: All groups provided insights into examples of transformative moments which potentiated professionalism development, the first being awarding the 'pre-registration trainee' title. All groups reported that contact with patients and trainee reflection aided professionalism maturation from a 'self-centred student' to becoming a 'responsible professional' where more than 'doing' is demanded. Furthermore, tutors stated the rate of professionalism development was affected by the sector of training and its opportunities for patient contact. Tutors felt they alone, not the registration exam, assessed professionalism using a variety of assessment approaches. Importantly, no tutors reported patient involvement in the assessment of trainees' professionalism, yet service users expected to be involved.

Conclusions: Transformative moments and maturation periods during pre-registration training develop professionalism and enable trainees to 'become' a pharmacist. Careful planning of placements to optimise professionalism development across pharmacy sectors and consistent patient involvement in assessing trainee professionalism is recommended.