Objective: To describe the evolution of learning styles of pharmacy residents as they transition from residency to practice.
Methods: Cross-sectional survey and interview-based study. A complete provincial cohort of former pharmacy residents (N=28), who had their learning styles characterized with the Pharmacists' Inventory of Learning Styles (PILS) at the beginning of their residency and, 1 year post-residency, were invited to repeat the PILS. Interviews were administered to consenting participants to gain additional insight.
Results: Twenty-seven of the former residents (96%) completed the PILS survey and 16 (59%) completed the post-PILS interview. Thirteen (48%) changed their dominant learning style and 20 (74%) changed their secondary learning style. Six (22%) participants did not change either learning style. The overall proportion of dominant assimilators (59%) and convergers (26%) remained similar to baseline (52% and 26%, respectively), meaning participants had adopted and abandoned different learning style in similar numbers. Change in learning style was associated with being a preceptor (p<0.05), as 58% of the 12 former residents who became preceptors stated in the interview they had adjusted their teaching practices based on knowledge of their learning styles gained during their residency.
Conclusion: Changing learning style is common for former residents after 1 year in postresidency practice. There is no overall direction to the change; former residents transition into and out of various learning styles with similar frequency and retain preferences for passive/abstract learning approaches over active/concrete ones. The early-career lability in learning style the study demonstrated may reveal an opportunity to guide pharmacists toward more active learning preferences through residency curricula, preceptorship, and mentorship.
Keywords: Learning styles; residency.