Abstract
Introduction
Academics are key players in supporting graduate employability and little is known about what pre-registrant pharmacists perceive to be valued by employers. This study explores what perceived competencies and attributes highlight their employability and what evidence they drawn upon in job interviews.
Methods
As part of an assessment, pre-registrant pharmacists performed a virtual mock job interview for an entry-level pharmacy position. Participants were asked what skills they could bring to the job. Participants were asked if their responses could be used for research purposes after the assessment. Responses were transcribed and coded using team-based framework analysis using an inductive codebook mapped to competencies set out by the Australian Pharmacy National Framework, which set out desired skills for practicing pharmacists.
Results
A total of 143 interview transcripts were included in the analysis. The top employable skills mentioned were “leadership of self” (98.6%) and “communication and collaboration” (96.5%). Responses about skills were often spoken about broadly without relating to evidence/experience and were often not targeted to the job description. There was often a disconnect between the opportunities provided by the university and the pre registrant interview responses. Examples of this included rare mention of research related competencies(31.5%) and no participant discussed experience in specific clinical services; despite having opportunities to participate in specialised areas in workplace placements and graduating from a course with an integrated research curriculum.,
Discussion
Academics can do more to support graduate employability especially as the job market becomes more saturated with health professionals. To support employability, future curriculum could provide emphasis on portfolio management from their first undergraduate year and linking learning to competencies, provide learning opportunities across all competencies and regular mentoring from practicing pharmacists.
Academics are key players in supporting graduate employability and little is known about what pre-registrant pharmacists perceive to be valued by employers. This study explores what perceived competencies and attributes highlight their employability and what evidence they drawn upon in job interviews.
Methods
As part of an assessment, pre-registrant pharmacists performed a virtual mock job interview for an entry-level pharmacy position. Participants were asked what skills they could bring to the job. Participants were asked if their responses could be used for research purposes after the assessment. Responses were transcribed and coded using team-based framework analysis using an inductive codebook mapped to competencies set out by the Australian Pharmacy National Framework, which set out desired skills for practicing pharmacists.
Results
A total of 143 interview transcripts were included in the analysis. The top employable skills mentioned were “leadership of self” (98.6%) and “communication and collaboration” (96.5%). Responses about skills were often spoken about broadly without relating to evidence/experience and were often not targeted to the job description. There was often a disconnect between the opportunities provided by the university and the pre registrant interview responses. Examples of this included rare mention of research related competencies(31.5%) and no participant discussed experience in specific clinical services; despite having opportunities to participate in specialised areas in workplace placements and graduating from a course with an integrated research curriculum.,
Discussion
Academics can do more to support graduate employability especially as the job market becomes more saturated with health professionals. To support employability, future curriculum could provide emphasis on portfolio management from their first undergraduate year and linking learning to competencies, provide learning opportunities across all competencies and regular mentoring from practicing pharmacists.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 135-135 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |