Iuri Marques, Sarah Caroline Willis, Ellen Ingrid Schafheutle and Karen Hassell
Organisational culture (OC) shapes individuals’ perceptions and experiences of work. However, no instrument capable of measuring specific aspects of OC in community pharmacy…
Abstract
Purpose
Organisational culture (OC) shapes individuals’ perceptions and experiences of work. However, no instrument capable of measuring specific aspects of OC in community pharmacy exists. The purpose of this paper is to report the development and validation of an instrument to measure OC in community pharmacy in Great Britain (GB), and conduct a preliminary analysis of data collected using it.
Design/methodology/approach
Instrument development comprised three stages: Stage I: 12 qualitative interviews and relevant literature informed instrument design; Stage II: 30 cognitive interviews assessed content validity; and Stage III: a cross-sectional survey mailed to 1,000 community pharmacists in GB, with factor analysis for instrument validation. Statistical analysis investigated how community pharmacists perceived OC in their place of work.
Findings
Factor analysis produced an instrument containing 60 items across five OC dimensions – business and work configuration, social relationships, personal and professional development, skills utilisation, and environment and structures. Internal reliability for the dimensions was high (0.84 to 0.95); item-total correlations were adequate (r=0.46 to r=0.76). Based on 209 responses, analysis suggests different OCs in community pharmacy, with some community pharmacists viewing the environment in which they worked as having a higher frequency of aspects related to patient contact and safety than others. Since these aspects are important for providing high healthcare standards, it is likely that differences in OC may be linked to different healthcare outcomes.
Originality/value
This newly developed and validated instrument to measure OC in community pharmacy can be used to benchmark existing OC across different pharmacies and design interventions for triggering change to improve outcomes for community pharmacists and patients.
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Sarah Caroline Willis, Phillip Shann and Karen Hassell
The purpose of this article is to explore factors influencing career deciding amongst pharmacy students and graduates in the UK.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to explore factors influencing career deciding amongst pharmacy students and graduates in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
Group interviews were used to devise a topic guide for five subsequent focus groups with pharmacy students and graduates. Focus groups were tape‐recorded, recordings transcribed, and transcripts analysed. Key themes and interlinking factors relating to pharmacy career deciding were identified in the transcripts, following a constructivist approach.
Findings
Participants' described making a “good fit” between themselves, their experiences, social networks etc. and pharmacy. Central to a coherent career deciding narrative were: having a job on graduation; and the instrumental advantage of studying a vocational course.
Research limitations/implications
Focusing on career deciding of UK pharmacy students and graduates may limit the study's generalisability to other countries. However, our findings are relevant to those interested in understanding students' motivations for healthcare careers, since our results suggest that making a “good fit” describes a general process of matching between a healthcare career and personal experience.
Practical implications
As we have found that pharmacy career deciding was not, usually, a planned activity, career advisors and those involved in higher education recruitment should take into account the roles played by personal preferences and values in choosing a degree course.
Originality/value
A qualitative study like this can illustrate how career deciding occurs and provide insight into the process from a student's perspective. This can help inform guidance processes, selection to healthcare professions courses within the higher education sector, and stimulate debate amongst those involved with recruitment of healthcare workers about desirable motivators for healthcare careers.
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Rebecca Elvey, Karen Hassell, Penny Lewis, Ellen Schafheutle, Sarah Willis and Stephen Harrison
Research on patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy is scarce compared with other health professions and in particular with pharmacists early in their careers. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Research on patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy is scarce compared with other health professions and in particular with pharmacists early in their careers. The purpose of this paper is to explore patient-centred professionalism in early career pharmacists and to describe reported behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
This study explored patient-centred professional values and reported behaviours, taking a qualitative approach. In all, 53 early-career pharmacists, pharmacy tutors and pharmacy support staff, practising in community and hospital pharmacy in England took part; the concept of patient-centred professionalism was explored through focus group interviews and the critical incident technique was used to elicit real-life examples of professionalism in practice.
Findings
Triangulation of the data revealed three constructs of pharmacy patient-centred professionalism: being professionally competent, having ethical values and being a good communicator.
Research limitations/implications
It is not known whether our participants’ perspectives reflect those of all pharmacists in the early stages of their careers. The data provide meaning for the concept of patient-centred professionalism. The work could be extended by developing a framework for wider application. Patient-centred professionalism in pharmacy needs further investigation from the patient perspective.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for pharmacy practice and education, particularly around increased interaction with patients.
Social implications
The data contribute to a topic of importance to patients and in relation to UK health policy, which allocates more directly clinical roles to pharmacists, which go beyond the dispensing and supply of medicines.
Originality/value
The methods included a novel application of the critical incident technique, which generated empirical evidence on a previously under-researched topic.
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Sally Jacobs, Darren Ashcroft and Karen Hassell
The aim of this paper is to report on the findings of a systematic literature review‐seeking to elicit existing evidence of the nature of organisational culture in community…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to report on the findings of a systematic literature review‐seeking to elicit existing evidence of the nature of organisational culture in community pharmacy organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
This review takes a novel approach to systematically identifying and synthesising the peer‐reviewed research literature pertaining to organisational culture in this setting, its antecedents and outcomes.
Findings
The review provides an overview of the scope of and research methods used in the identified literature, together with a narrative synthesis of its findings, framed within five dimensions of organisational culture: the professional‐business role dichotomy; workload, management style, social support and autonomy; professional culture; attitudes to change and innovation; and entrepreneurial orientation.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for more detailed and holistic exploration of organisational culture in community pharmacy, using a greater diversity of research methods and a greater focus on patient‐related outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates that, whilst little research has explicitly investigated organisational culture in this context, there exists a range of evidence describing aspects of that culture, some of the environmental and organisational factors helping to shape it, and its impact on the pharmacy workforce, services delivered and business outcomes. It highlights the importance of the business‐professional role dichotomy in community pharmacy; the influence of individual pharmacists' characteristics and organisational setting; and the impact on pharmacists' wellbeing and job satisfaction and the services delivered. It provides less evidence of the impact of organisational culture on the quality and safety of service provision.
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The purpose of this article is to offer an overview of the prestigious Jason Kinsey Award given by the National Association for School-University Partnerships (NASUP). The article…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to offer an overview of the prestigious Jason Kinsey Award given by the National Association for School-University Partnerships (NASUP). The article outlines the history and purpose, chronicles previous winners, and celebrates the 2024 honoree.
Design/methodology/approach
This article highlights recent winners of NASUP’s Jason Kinsey Award.
Findings
Due to the nature of this piece, there are no research findings. The article explains the history of the award, chronicles the winners over the years, and honors the most recent award recipient.
Originality/value
This article draws additional attention to this exemplary partnership work and may inspire future nominations.
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Karen E. Fisher, Ann Peterson Bishop, Philip Fawcett and Lassana Magassa
InfoMe is an innovative research program that explores and facilitates how ethnic minority youth help members of their social networks, especially elders, with everyday life…
Abstract
Purpose
InfoMe is an innovative research program that explores and facilitates how ethnic minority youth help members of their social networks, especially elders, with everyday life situations through information and technology.
Methodology/approach
The project employs mixed methods, iteratively using Teen Design Days and a stratified random, classroom-based survey (n = 500) in six schools, with multiple community partners in King County, WA.
Findings
InfoMe inductively demonstrates how ethnic minority youth help others with situations of daily living through information and technology.
Practical and social implications
The findings are being used to develop InfoMe applications with the youth and InfoMe Train-the-Trainer workshops for professionals who work with youth.
Originality/value
The research is developing a model of how ethnic minority youth engage as information mediaries in different community settings, how individuals and communities benefit; and it is contributing to our general understanding of specific concepts related to the human information experience.
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This chapter maps existing patterns of broad-based worker ownership and control in contemporary advanced capitalism and considers future possibilities for expanding democracy…
Abstract
This chapter maps existing patterns of broad-based worker ownership and control in contemporary advanced capitalism and considers future possibilities for expanding democracy within firms. Section one discusses worker ownership and control arrangements in relation to different theories of the firm and shows how these arrangements map onto different national systems. Section two compares Germany, which is characterized by worker control without ownership, and the United States, which is marked by worker ownership without control. Section three explores three pathways through which broad-based worker ownership and control might be deepened and more strongly coupled in the future.
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Diane L. Barlow and Ann E. Prentice
This chapter presents a brief history of the James Partridge Award from its founding in 1997 to the present day.
Abstract
Purpose
This chapter presents a brief history of the James Partridge Award from its founding in 1997 to the present day.
Methodology/approach
The history of the James Partridge Award is told as a narrative account. Both authors were personally involved in the founding and early development of the award.
Findings
The James Partridge Award has celebrated the accomplishments of African American information professionals since the first award was presented in 1998. The award is an important part of the Conference on Inclusion and Diversity in Library and Information Science.