Impact of the Birkman Method Assessment on Pharmacy Student Self-Confidence, Self-Perceptions, and Self-Awareness

According to Standard 4, the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) graduate must be, able to examine and reflect on personal knowledge, skills, abilities, beliefs, biases, motivation, and emotions that could enhance or limit personal and professional growth".1 Self-awareness has been identified as an important component of emotional intelligence,2-5 effective interprofessional patient care,2,5 professionalism,5 self-efficacy,5 professional development,6 and cultural competence6 across a variety of healthcare education disciplines including pharmacy, medical, nursing, and dentistry education. Additionally, the Cronbach's alpha calculated for the confidence assessment approximated or exceeded 0.7, so study investigators deemed the survey tool appropriate for determining the utility of the Birkman Method assessment tool in the context of our PharmD program. Because the Birkman Method assessment tool has undergone extensive reliability and validation procedures, the comparison of self-perception data from the investigatorgenerated self-perception survey questions to Birkman results appropriately benchmarks individuals' communication and behavior styles in both, the usual and stressed state, and also addresses needs and interests.