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Abstract

Newly graduated pharmacists entering retail pharmacy practice must negotiate professional responsibilities for safe, patient-centred care alongside operational and commercial demands. Little is known about how early-career pharmacists in Indonesia interpret the meaning of this work in everyday practice. This study explored how newly graduated pharmacists in retail pharmacies in Denpasar and Badung, Bali, experience and interpret the meaning of their work. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) design was used. Eight pharmacists with 0–2 years of work experience participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The analysis followed an idiographic process of repeated reading, exploratory noting, development of experiential themes, within-case interpretation, and cautious cross-case comparison. Five superordinate themes were developed: (1) transition from academic expectations to workplace reality; (2) tension between healthcare professional and retail employee identities; (3) patient interaction as a source of experienced meaning; (4) organizational support and collegial relationships; and (5) redefining professional purpose amid commercial pressures. Participants’ accounts suggested that meaning was negotiated through patient encounters, workplace relationships, role expectations, and efforts to reconcile professional values with business routines. The findings provide preliminary, context-specific insight into how early-career pharmacists make sense of work in community retail pharmacies. The small, geographically concentrated sample and retrospective, cross-sectional interviews limit transferability and do not support causal claims about engagement or performance. Further longitudinal and comparative research is warranted.

Keywords

Meaning Of Work Newly Graduated Pharmacists Community Pharmacy Professional Identity Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

How to Cite

Citation Format
Ramadhani, F. E., Winarno, A., Handayati, P., & Subagyo, S. (2026). Meaning of Work Among Newly Graduated Pharmacists in Retail Pharmacies: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. International Journal of Management Science and Information Technology, 6(2), 2983-2990. https://doi.org/10.35870/ijmsit.v6i2.8873

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Author Biographies

Ferra Eka Ramadhani, Universitas Negeri Malang

Doctoral Study Program in Management Science, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang City, East Java Province, Indonesia

Agung Winarno, Universitas Negeri Malang

Doctoral Study Program in Management Science, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang City, East Java Province, Indonesia

Puji Handayati, Universitas Negeri Malang

Doctoral Study Program in Management Science, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang City, East Java Province, Indonesia

Subagyo, Universitas Negeri Malang

Doctoral Study Program in Management Science, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang City, East Java Province, Indonesia

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Ferra Eka Ramadhani, Agung Winarno, Puji Handayati, Subagyo

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This is an open-access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, and adaptation in any medium (even commercially), provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated. Authors retain copyright without restrictions and grant the journal the right of first publication as well as non-exclusive publishing rights for archiving, indexing, and scholarly dissemination.

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