Professional identity formation in pharmacy in the era of artificial intelligence.

Abstract

Professional identity formation (PIF), the developmental process through which practitioners come to think, act, and feel as pharmacists, has historically been shaped by experiential learning, participation in communities of practice, and socialization in professional culture. The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in educational, clinical and operational pharmacy settings represents a system-level disruption to these established pathways. However, there is limited guidance on how to navigate this transition intentionally and constructively. This position paper aims to: (1) evaluate how generative AI technologies are reshaping the core pharmacy competencies; (2) examine the pedagogical, operational and ethical challenges AI poses to traditional PIF pathways; (3) identify emerging pharmacist professional identities in the AI era; and (4) propose actionable, globally relevant recommendations for pharmacy educators, regulators, health systems, and practitioners. This position paper was developed through an author-led, literature-informed synthesis conducted by the Research and Scholarship Working Group of the Internaitonal Pharmaceutical Federation Academic Pharmacy Section. Literature was identified through targeted searches related to PIF, pharmacy education and practice, and AI in healthcare with purposive selection of peer-reviewed and grey literature and professional framework documents. Four key thematic domains are discussed: conceptual foundations of PIF, evolving AI landscape in healthcare and pharmacy, challenges to traditional PIF pathways, and opportunities to develop an enhanced professional identity. AI is more likely to augment rather than replace pharmacist roles, redistributing cognitive effort toward higher-order clinical, consultative, supervisory, and governance functions. However, the risks of deskilling, automation bias and ethical dissonance, particularly when AI outputs conflict with professional judgements or reflect dataset biases, present substantive threats to identity coherence. Four professional roles emerged: AI-augmented clinician, translator and integrator of AI outputs, ethical guardian and data steward, and co-designer and validator of AI systems in pharmacy. Global inequities in AI access, implementation and governance, particularly in low- and middle-income settings, further compound these challenges. Pharmacy curricula should embed AI literacy, data ethics, and critical appraisal as core competencies, supported by simulation-based pedagogy and faculty development. Professional bodies should update competency frameworks to integrate emerging AI-related professional identities. At the same time, health systems should redesign workflows that cultivate continuous digital upskilling alongside ethical vigilance. A coordinated global response is required to ensure that AI enhances the patient-centered, ethically grounded identity that defines the pharmacy profession. The profession must not respond to AI defensively but instead deepen the human-centered values that define pharmacy practice that algorithms cannot replicate, namely empathy, ethical stewardship, and relational expertise. This position paper provides a global framework to support those elements in PIF.