Pharmacy Education

• In Event: The Student Experience in Brazil and the U.S. at Fifty

Abstract

The decision to go to college may be one of the most important choices a person makes in his or her lifetime. Students considering higher education following completion of high school have come to the realization that the additional education may influence career choices, potential earnings, and professional and personal satisfaction. Students considering a college education undergo different phases in making the decision of an institution to attend. Depending on the individual, this process may have occurred over many years and/or during the time the student is in high school.
The goal of this study is to determine if the pharmacy college choice process used by prospective pharmacy students followed other college choice models (including Hossler and Gallagher’s (1987) three-phase model) and identifying the primary and secondary factors that influence final choice. A qualitative methodology is employed to understand the phenomenon of Pharmacy College Choice (PCC) from the perspective of students who had just gone through this experience. This study examines the college choice process at two Texas institutions. This research seeks to understand the lived experience of students selecting a college of pharmacy by inquiring 1) what is the college decision-making process for pharmacy students, 2) how do students select a school of pharmacy to attend, 3) what factors influence students’ choice of a pharmacy program to attend at different types of institutions.

Author

• Diane B Ginsburg, Health Outcomes & Pharmacy Practice