Key findings from this study
- The study found that student pharmacists perceived the I/R practice as transformative, with reported benefits including sustained learning, increased confidence, and continued professional development.
- The researchers demonstrate that intention-setting and reflection activities facilitate student progression toward adaptive leadership and resilience in managing professional challenges within diverse APPE settings.
- The authors report that structured I/R engagement generated metacognitive growth and enhanced self-awareness among student pharmacists, contributing to focused professional development and forward-looking career planning.
Overview
This study evaluated the impact of Intention/Reflection (I/R) practice, a structured engagement tool implemented by APPE preceptors in response to pandemic-related educational disruptions, on student pharmacist learning experiences and professional development. The I/R framework operates through paired intention-setting and reflection activities designed to cultivate metacognitive awareness, motivation, and self-directed learning within diverse advanced pharmacy practice experience settings. The research was conducted within the post-pandemic educational landscape to identify and establish best practices for experiential pharmacy education that support student engagement and resilience.
Methods and approach
The study employed a retrospective qualitative design analyzing responses from 20 student pharmacists across two U.S. colleges of pharmacy who participated in APPE elective rotations incorporating I/R activities. Participants provided written responses to five structured I/R prompts that were systematically collected and thematically analyzed by two independent researchers using qualitative data analysis software. The dual-coder approach and independent analysis supported analytical rigor and thematic validation across the student population.
Results
Thematic analysis yielded four primary themes representing distinct dimensions of the I/R experience. Two intention-focused themes emerged: Embracing Discomfort as a Catalyst for Confidence, Engagement, and Leadership Growth, and Purposeful Precision: Growing into Adaptive Leadership, both documenting student trajectories toward enhanced confidence and resilience when navigating professional challenges. Two reflection-focused themes were identified: Reflection as a Catalyst for Professional Learning and Engagement, and Reflection as a Tool for Focused Growth and Self-Awareness, which synthesized evidence of evolving professional identity development and intentional planning for future career trajectories. Across themes, participants described the I/R practice as transformative, reporting sustained learning gains, increased professional confidence, and ongoing advancement in self-directed professional development.
Implications
The findings establish empirical support for integrating structured I/R practices into experiential pharmacy education as a mechanism for enhancing student engagement during APPE rotations. The perceived transformative nature of the intervention suggests that explicit attention to intention-setting and reflective processing addresses key learning and motivational outcomes that align with accreditation standards for experiential education. The documented evolution of student metacognitive awareness and professional confidence indicates that I/R practices may be particularly valuable in post-pandemic contexts where educational continuity and student resilience require deliberate pedagogical scaffolding.
These results provide preliminary evidence that structured engagement tools can address educational challenges emerging from systemic disruptions while simultaneously advancing best practices in pharmacy experiential education. The sustained benefits reported across diverse APPE settings suggest transferability of the I/R approach across different clinical and practice environments. Future implementation and evaluation of I/R frameworks in broader pharmacy education contexts could establish whether the observed outcomes represent generalizable enhancements to experiential learning design.
Scope and limitations
This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.
Disclosure
- Research title: Intention/Reflection (I/R) Practice Creates a Deeper APPE Connection for Student Pharmacists After COVID-19
- Authors: Kerry K. Fierke, Gardner A. Lepp, Alina Cernasev
- Institutions: Tennessee Department of Health, University of Minnesota, Duluth
- Publication date: 2026-03-05
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy14020045
- OpenAlex record: View
- PDF: Download
- Image credit: Photo by Navy Medicine on Unsplash (Source • License)
- Disclosure: This post was generated by Claude (Anthropic). The original authors did not write or review this post.