The relationship between self-reported professionalism and student involvement in pharmacy organizations at one college of pharmacy: An exploratory analysis

Objective: To explore potential correlations between student involvement in pharmacy organizations and self-reported professionalism. Methods: A cross-sectional, prospective, print-based questionnaire was submitted to students in their last didactic year of the Doctor of Pharmacy program at one University. The questionnaire was administered during a well-attended, regularly scheduled class and students self-assessed their professionalism on the Behavioral Professionalism Assessment. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 78 of 84 students (a 93% response rate). A significant positive correlation between self-reported professionalism and involvement (i.e., the number of brown bags/health fairs and organizational meetings attended, p < 0.05 for each) was identified. Conclusions: A relationship was identified between self-reported professionalism and some measures of involvement in professional organizations in this exploratory study. Further research should be conducted at other Colleges of Pharmacy to determine whether these data can be generalized to the larger pharmacy student population.