How can we help learners re-imagine how the profession might shift?

I spent some time in July with Lisa Dolovich and Zayna Khayat, Ph.D. helping a super group chart some future paths for pharmacy education at Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto.

Zayna opened with a tour through the trends and signals impacting healthcare, pharmacy and higher ed. It was clear from the conversation that new funding models are needed to support the other shifts we need to move from sick-care to health-care.

I followed with an exploration of two radically different futures for pharmacy in Ontario: one extending from the present and collapsing under its own weight, the other rooted in care and community reinvention. Both had their own kinds of trouble and promises. With some personas and narrative vignettes for these futures, we unpacked our visceral responses as a lead in to thinking about the kinds of experiences, capabilities and transformations PharmD and continuing professional development programs could support.

What kind of learning environments are needed to help pharmacists contribute to a future that avoids feeling like burnt-out cogs in a failing, tech-overloaded machine? What’s needed to support moving towards re-imagined roles as central figures in coordinated, values-driven health ecosystems?

In the brainstorming of ideas with the group, one stood out to me. As students are forming their professional identity, what if we could help them re-imagine what pharmacy is and explore the diverse ways in which it is understood and practiced? Though we didn’t have time to explore the ideas in depth, this one made me think about what kinds of artifacts from the future might reflect such a course.

Following the session, I created this fictional student reflection for a fictional course for 2nd-year undergrad PharmD students. It made me wonder – also beyond pharmacy – where and when do imaginative explorations of professional identity fit into a learning journey? What kinds of pedagogy, experiences, and mentorship are needed to help learners navigate the tensions between the requirements of the profession, the status quo of healthcare, and the possibilities for how it all might be otherwise?