Psychological factors associated with pharmacist involvement in patient-centered services

Abstract

Pharmacists are actively being encouraged to do more patient-centred activities like medicines management, primary care for common ailments, prescribing, and vaccination as their role evolves. However, the adoption of patient-centred services into practice is still low, and we do not know which personality characteristics predict the adoption of these services. The overarching goal of this thesis is to determine what personality characteristics are associated with providing patient-centred services/roles or intent to do in so the future for pharmacy students and pharmacists in New Zealand The first study was to determine the association between personality characteristics, occupational culture and the provision of patient-centred pharmacy services by pharmacists practising in New Zealand. Specifically, Chapter 3, was undertaken to provide insight into the possible relationships between the Big Five Inventory personality traits and the Organisational Culture Profile traits and other pharmacist behaviour measures like a skill as a patient counsellor, confidence to carry out patient-centred tasks, goal orientation, decision-making skills, and job satisfaction. Chapter 4 further explores whether individual characteristics of pharmacy graduates are associated with engagement in patient-centred pharmacy services. The work conducted in Chapter 4 reveals that pharmacy graduates were excited about their patient-centred roles. Self-efficacy and sense of belonging in the profession were found as key associates with interest in patient-centred services. Previously identified personality traits in Chapter 4 were tested in Chapter 5 to examine the pharmacy interns’ readiness in providing patient-centred services. However, no significant association was found between the personality and other measures with interest in providing patient-centred services. Schools and faculties of pharmacy are responsible for the education and training of the future generation of pharmacists. Despite many similarities, pharmacists’ training and scope for engaging with advanced roles differ between provinces of Canada, as well as with New Zealand. In New Zealand, there appears to be a paucity of studies that have addressed the personality traits of pharmacy students or the related challenges to their patient-centred service uptake or provision. Little is known if these characteristics differ among incoming pharmacy students from different countries, with different selection processes and pathways. Therefore, Chapter 6, explored the personality traits and characteristics of entry-level undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Otago and the University of Waterloo, Canada and examined their differences between students at each institution in their interest in different career roles, and are any of these associated with their personal characteristics. Finally, there is no longitudinal study which has investigated the personality traits and other variables that influence pharmacy students' desire to engage in traditional and new roles and change in scores compared to their second year of pharmacy programme. This was accomplished through chapter 7 that found intention to perform new roles in fourth-year graduates were associated with a higher score in mastery-approach to learning and linking with the second year response identified higher scores in faith in intuition. In conclusion, this thesis has identified significant relationships between the interest to provide patient-centred services and a series of personality measures including Big Five Inventory (agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion), Achievement Goals Questionnaire-Revised (mastery-approach, performance-approach), and Self-Efficacy, Counselor Role Orientation (reliance on the doctor). Moreover, entry-level pharmacy students’ had similar personality profiles between Canada and New Zealand. The work conducted in this thesis helps to understand characteristics that predict engagement with patient-centred roles. This work provides the basis for future research that will help shape the future of the profession, especially to aid in the workforce planning process and further work will determine how these personality and learning goals influence pharmacy students’ preparation for future practice.