Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.

<h4>Objectives</h4>The Code of Ethics of pharmacy practitioners in Australia recognises the obligation to provide care to patients in a culturally safe and responsive manner. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine how Australian community pharmacists understand and experience t...

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Main Authors: Jasmina Fejzic, Michelle Barker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217673
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spelling doaj-9b0878abd1d349d4a293c2c3fcc0ec522021-03-04T10:29:11ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01146e021767310.1371/journal.pone.0217673Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.Jasmina FejzicMichelle Barker<h4>Objectives</h4>The Code of Ethics of pharmacy practitioners in Australia recognises the obligation to provide care to patients in a culturally safe and responsive manner. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine how Australian community pharmacists understand and experience the concept of 'culture' in their everyday practice environment.<h4>Methods</h4>Voluntary, semi-structured interviews were conducted at community pharmacy placement sites in South-East Queensland, Australia. Pharmacists were asked to recall an incident that evoked their cultural awareness during the course of their practice. The question stated, verbatim: "We are preparing our students to be pharmacists in a highly multicultural community. Can you think of an incident where you learnt something about another person's culture or it made you more aware of your own culture? Please briefly describe the incident." Reportable responses were collected from 59 of the 92 visited pharmacists. These responses were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were collated and analysed through iterative, reflexive, thematic analysis using constant comparison.<h4>Results and significance</h4>The responses provided a rich selection of lived experiences within Australian multicultural pharmacy practice, describing professional dilemmas, fears and the strategies employed to overcome practice challenges. Six main response categories were identified: (i) Language/communication challenges, (ii) Cultural attitudes and behaviours, (iii) Exposure to culture due to pharmacy location, (iv) Religion, gender, and age, (v) Prejudiced/perceived racist attitudes and discrimination towards 'other' cultures, (vi) Perceived 'sameness' of different cultures. The study has provided valuable insights into community pharmacists' experiences of culture in their day-to-day professional practice, also highlighting the associated strategies used to maintain a high standard of practice. There is merit in ensuring that the pharmacy curriculum and professional development programs are designed to respond to the ethical obligation of pharmacists to practise in a culturally safe, responsive manner that acknowledges and incorporates the importance of culture, cultural differences and intercultural relations, while addressing culturally unique needs in a skilled and professional manner.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217673
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jasmina Fejzic
Michelle Barker
spellingShingle Jasmina Fejzic
Michelle Barker
Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Jasmina Fejzic
Michelle Barker
author_sort Jasmina Fejzic
title Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.
title_short Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.
title_full Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.
title_fullStr Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.
title_full_unstemmed Pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural Australia: From perceptions to skilled practice.
title_sort pharmacy practitioners' lived experiences of culture in multicultural australia: from perceptions to skilled practice.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2019-01-01
description <h4>Objectives</h4>The Code of Ethics of pharmacy practitioners in Australia recognises the obligation to provide care to patients in a culturally safe and responsive manner. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine how Australian community pharmacists understand and experience the concept of 'culture' in their everyday practice environment.<h4>Methods</h4>Voluntary, semi-structured interviews were conducted at community pharmacy placement sites in South-East Queensland, Australia. Pharmacists were asked to recall an incident that evoked their cultural awareness during the course of their practice. The question stated, verbatim: "We are preparing our students to be pharmacists in a highly multicultural community. Can you think of an incident where you learnt something about another person's culture or it made you more aware of your own culture? Please briefly describe the incident." Reportable responses were collected from 59 of the 92 visited pharmacists. These responses were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were collated and analysed through iterative, reflexive, thematic analysis using constant comparison.<h4>Results and significance</h4>The responses provided a rich selection of lived experiences within Australian multicultural pharmacy practice, describing professional dilemmas, fears and the strategies employed to overcome practice challenges. Six main response categories were identified: (i) Language/communication challenges, (ii) Cultural attitudes and behaviours, (iii) Exposure to culture due to pharmacy location, (iv) Religion, gender, and age, (v) Prejudiced/perceived racist attitudes and discrimination towards 'other' cultures, (vi) Perceived 'sameness' of different cultures. The study has provided valuable insights into community pharmacists' experiences of culture in their day-to-day professional practice, also highlighting the associated strategies used to maintain a high standard of practice. There is merit in ensuring that the pharmacy curriculum and professional development programs are designed to respond to the ethical obligation of pharmacists to practise in a culturally safe, responsive manner that acknowledges and incorporates the importance of culture, cultural differences and intercultural relations, while addressing culturally unique needs in a skilled and professional manner.
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217673
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