Social and Professional Borderlines: The Socioprofessional Dynamic and the Experiences of African-American and White Pharmacy Students
Dean and Associate Professor Kenneth M. Hale R.Ph. and Ph.D.Thomas W. Humphreys R.Ph.
Dean Randall V. Schexnayder R.Ph. and M.S.Ph.
pages: 35 - 76
- DOI: 10.1300/J060v09n04_02
- Version of record first published: 01Sep2003
Abstract:
This naturalistic study focused on the experiences of African-American and white pharmacy students at a predominantly black and predominantly white institution. Data collection included individual and small group interviews, observations of classroom and student organization activities, and document analyses. Results are presented within a framework of the sources of pharmacy student environmental influence including societal, personal, university, and college effects. Student experiences are described according to a model of personal and environmental influences on pharmacy student educational experience. This includes the precursory influences of personal background, effort, interfering problems, and support. Social and professional involvements are at the center of this model. “Socioacademic” and “socioprofessional” interactions are described as being closely related to a student's professional viability. The paper concludes with implications for educational practice and a narrative constructed around the experiences of an isolated African-American male student in the predominantly white setting.