Objective This study aims to identify factors influencing students' decision to pursue a doctorate in pharmacy (PharmD). Methods Focus-group interviews and quantitative surveys were used in sequence to investigate pharmacy students' motivations. A total of 36 current PharmD students from two US colleges of pharmacy participated in five focus groups. The resulting qualitative findings, along with existing literature, informed the development of a survey questionnaire, which was then administered to two cohorts of first-year pharmacy students at one of the participating colleges. Key findings Identified themes include prestige of a doctorate, patient interaction, career versatility, and pharmacy school's lower intensity vis-a-vis medical school. A total of 110 first-year pharmacy students from a 4-year program (average (SD) age 23 (5); 65 female) completed the survey (98.5 response rate). The order of factors that respondents ranked as important or somewhat important for choosing pharmacy include: financial stability (n = 107 (97)), prestige of a doctorate degree ((n = 97 (88)), good work-life balance ((n = 96 (87)), the opportunity to use critical thinking skills ((n = 93 (85)), having patient interaction and communication ((n = 91 (83)), and being in a profession or service ((n = 91 (83)). Conclusions US PharmD students are mainly drawn by job and financial stability, prestige of a doctorate, and a good work-life balance.
展开▼
