Identifying psychological contract breaches to guide improvements in faculty recruitment, retention, and development.

OBJECTIVE: To identify pharmacy faculty members' perceptions of psychological contract breaches that can be used to guide improvements in faculty recruitment, retention, and development. METHODS: A list of psychological contract breaches was developed using a Delphi procedure involving a panel of experts assembled through purposive sampling. The Delphi consisted of 4 rounds, the first of which elicited examples of psychological contract breaches in an open-ended format. The ensuing 3 rounds consisting of a survey and anonymous feedback on aggregated group responses. RESULTS: Usable responses were obtained from 11 of 12 faculty members who completed the Delphi procedure. The final list of psychological contract breaches included 27 items, after modifications based on participant feedback in subsequent rounds. CONCLUSION: The psychological contract breach items generated in this study provide guidance for colleges and schools of pharmacy regarding important aspects of faculty recruitment, retention, and development.

Instrument to measure psychological contract violation in pharmacy students.

OBJECTIVES: To adapt and evaluate an instrument that measures perceived psychological contract violations in pharmacy students by schools and colleges of pharmacy. DESIGN: A psychological contract violations measure was developed from existing literature and the 1997 ACPE Guidelines and pilot-tested with second-year pharmacy students at 2 schools of pharmacy. A revised measure then was administered to second-year pharmacy students at 6 schools of pharmacy. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale, participants were asked to indicate the level of obligations they received compared to what was promised by the school of pharmacy. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis on the psychological contract violations measure was conducted using principal components analysis resulting in 7 factors, which led to a revised measure with 26 items. Using a sample of 339 students, the proposed 7-factor measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. In general, the results supported the hypothesized model. The final 23-item scale demonstrated both reliability and validity. Some students perceived certain aspects of the psychological contract that exists with their school of pharmacy were being violated. CONCLUSION: The psychological contract violations measure may serve as a valuable tool in helping to identify areas where their students believe that schools/colleges of pharmacy have not fulfilled promised obligations.

Plaintiff or defendant: using legal cases to teach students pharmacy law.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the value of students using actual legal cases during collaborative "breakout" sessions in a pharmacy law class. DESIGN: Students were broken into smaller groups and randomly assigned a legal case to arbitrate or defend. One week prior to the groups' presentation, all students were given the facts of a case that was reflective of issues covered during the lecture component of the course. Formative assessments were utilized in addition to an overall breakout satisfaction survey administered at the end of the course. ASSESSMENT: Overall, students felt the breakout sessions enhanced their learning environment and reinforced material covered during the didactic portion of the course. Students also recommended the breakout sessions for future pharmacy law courses. CONCLUSION: Dividing a large pharmacy law class into 2 sections of 12 groups each and conducting mock trials resulted in increased student participation and interaction and deeper understanding of the course content.

Using the humanities to strengthen the concept of professionalism among first-professional year pharmacy students.

OBJECTIVES: To engage pharmacy students at the McWhorter School of Pharmacy in an authentic discussion of professionalism early in their education. METHODS: A booklet was prepared that included several classic short stories and essays that dealt with professionalism. This booklet was sent to all entering students in the class of 2008 and 2009 during the summer prior to their first-professional year of the PharmD program. The stories and essays were discussed in small groups with faculty facilitation during orientation when the students first arrived on campus. A survey instrument was created and administered to assess the impact of this innovative approach to enhancing professionalism. RESULTS: The program was well received and engaged our pharmacy students in a productive discussion on professionalism. Both classes' mean scores on survey items related that the students were engaged in the discussion of professionalism. Survey results pertaining to professional behavior also indicated increased awareness of the importance of professionalism. CONCLUSION: Enhancing professionalism requires a culture change that necessitates addressing professionalism at its core, a calling to serve, in a persistent and continual manner. Requiring students to read and think about professionalism in a novel way, before they even begin their first-professional year of pharmacy school, appears to be an effective approach to nurturing/encouraging professionalism.