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Purpose: Stress may negatively influence the health and academic performance of healthcare professional students and correlates with stress and burnout as a healthcare professional. This study measured student pharmacist well-being and compared the well-being of first- through third-year student pharmacists., Methods: In fall 2019, the investigators administered an online survey to first- through third-year student pharmacists to assess student pharmacist well-being. Items included the World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) and demographic variables. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed. Descriptive statistics were used to measure well-being, and a Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to determine whether there were differences between professional years., Results: Approximately 64.8% of student pharmacists (n = 248 of 383) completed the survey. Overall, 66.1% of respondents were female (n = 164) and 31% of respondents were Caucasian (n =77), while 31% (n =77) were African American; the majority ranged in age from 24 to 29 years. There was not a statistically significant difference in WHO-5 score between the different classes (P = 0.183), with an average WHO-5 score out of 100 of 38.2 for first-year students, 41.2 for second-year students, and 41.04 for third-year students, showing poor well-being for students in all 3 professional years., Conclusion: Because of emergent evidence of increased stress and negative outcomes in university students, it is imperative that pharmacy programs expand their efforts in assessment of student pharmacist well-being. While this research manuscript revealed poor well-being in all 3 professional years, it did not identify a statistically significant difference in WHO-5 score between classes. Individualized well-being interventions in all professional years may help students improve their well-being., (© American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2023. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective. To review the literature assessing student pharmacist well-being and the impact of well-being-associated interventions. Findings. Of the 15 studies included, six assessed student pharmacist well-being while nine evaluated the impact of a well-being intervention. While various approaches exist to assessing student pharmacist well-being, the body of literature suggests, overall, that student pharmacist well-being is poor. Since well-being is multifaceted and individualized, some pharmacy schools have identified various ways to incorporate tailored well-being activities, including mindfulness, into required, elective, and cocurricular experiences within the Doctor of Pharmacy program, with varying outcomes. Summary. This review highlights the limited and variable information available on the assessment of student pharmacist well-being as well as unique strategies to incorporate well-being initiatives into Doctor of Pharmacy curricula. Schools of pharmacy should identify the well-being needs of student pharmacists through a standardized well-being assessment instrument and provide meaningful well-being resources and interventions within the curriculum. There is a growing need for faculty to invest in student pharmacist mental wellness in addition to academic success. Future accreditation standards will inform the Academy on how to advance well-being initiatives., (© 2022 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.)

Enhancing student pharmacist professionalism through co-curricular efforts has gained much attention in pharmacy education since release of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education's Standards 2016. Interestingly, traditional and current definitions and attributes of professionalism do not include components of well-being; instead, the ideas of altruism and self-sacrifice predominate. However, providing students with the tools, resources, and time needed to invest in themselves to maintain their well-being is imperative as this in turn allows them to fulfill the pharmacy profession's standards of professional conduct and engagement. Although classic interpretations may seem to conflict, practicing self-care to promote personal well-being is thankfully not in opposition to being an altruistic, self-sacrificing professional. This commentary explores the interplay between the two constructs and postulates that some issues related to student pharmacists' unprofessional behavior can be linked to a lack of well-being. Therefore, pharmacy educators should consider incorporating well-being initiatives into efforts focused on refining student pharmacist professionalism., (© 2022 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.)

Background and Purpose: Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) equips patients with diabetes with the knowledge needed for appropriate management. The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of student confidence/aptitude held by students, pharmacy faculty preceptors, and patients regarding student teaching of a DSMES class., Educational Activity and Setting: The study was a prospective assessment of fourth-year ambulatory care advanced pharmacy practice experience students. Students taught a single DSMES class and evaluated their confidence using a 14-item survey before and after the class. Patients who participated in the class and a pharmacy faculty observer completed the same instrument. Responses were compared using Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, as appropriate., Findings: Twenty-six students completed the survey. Overall, students' self-perceived confidence scores significantly increased for all questions after teaching the DSMES class (P < .001 for all questions). Confidence scores among students and faculty preceptors were similar with no significant differences in perceived confidence. There were some significant differences found among student and patient scores, with patients assessing student's perceived self-confidence higher than the students on three items (P < .05)., Summary: Student pharmacists' perceptions of their own confidence and abilities improved from before to after teaching a DSMES class. Student and faculty preceptor confidence scores were similar. There were few differences between student and patient confidence scores, with patients rating students highly on their perceived confidence in teaching a DSMES class. Patient feedback is important to consider when evaluating student confidence and abilities., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Development of professionalism is essential for student pharmacists. This paper describes the development of a novel co-curricular professional engagement program for student pharmacists., Methods: At admission, all student pharmacists are enrolled in a faculty-developed professional engagement program. The program was designed to address various key elements of Standards 3 and 4 of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Accreditation Standards. The program requires student pharmacists to complete a variety of required and electives activities each professional year. Student progression and completion of these activities is monitored and evaluated by an assigned faculty member. Each year, the program is reviewed using various measures, including activity completion rate and student feedback., Results: Approximately 1000 student pharmacists, across four years and seven cohorts of students, have completed at least one portion of the program. All students in the aforementioned groups completed the program in its entirety. Example activities included professional seminars and professional organization involvement, leadership, and community service. Program activities were mapped to key elements of Standards 1 through 4 with an emphasis on Standards 3 and 4. Student feedback was used for continuous quality improvement, and programmatic revisions were made., Conclusions: The development and implementation of a co-curricular professional engagement program offered the opportunity for student pharmacists to actively participate in a variety of experiences supporting accreditation standards. Other colleges of pharmacy may benefit from the adoption of a similar program to support student pharmacist professional development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None, (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Journal clubs are commonly used by healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, as a means of analyzing and applying research to clinical practice. The purpose of this research is to determine if participation in student-led journal clubs impacts students' understanding of and confidence in literature evaluation., Methods: First- through third-year pharmacy students attended co-curricular journal club sessions. Students attending these sessions completed a questionnaire (Journal Club Comprehension and Confidence Instrument [JCCCI]) immediately prior to [pre-survey] and following [post-survey] the journal club session (journal club group). The JCCCI was also delivered to student pharmacists not attending the co-curricular journal club sessions (control group). Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests were used to compare the responses to the JCCCI questionnaire. Analysis was conducted using SPSS. This research was approved by the University's Institutional Review Board., Results: A total of 182 student pharmacists completed the survey (journal club group, n = 52; control group, n = 130). There were significant differences in the pre- and post-survey of the journal club group in eight of the 10 competencies; "process", "background", "methods", "intervention/treatment", "statistical analysis", "results", "clinical significance" and "strengths/limitations". There were significant differences discovered between the journal club group (post-survey) and control group in three of the 10 competencies; "process", "importance", and "intervention/treatment"., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that participation in a journal club yielded significant improvements in how students self-rated their confidence in and understanding of literature evaluation. Based on students' self-assessed understanding of and confidence in literature evaluation, student-led journal club sessions conducted outside of the traditional pharmacy curriculum offer a perceived benefit to students., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Professionalism in pharmacy students is an area of great focus with the release of Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Standards 2016. This study assessed and compared student pharmacists' professionalism at one college of pharmacy to inform the implementation of a co-curricular professional engagement program., Methods: Two validated instruments (Behavioral Professionalism Assessment Instrument [BPAI] and Pharmacy Professionalism Instrument [PPI]) were administered to assess baseline professionalism. Kruskall-Wallis tests compared responses among the three pharmacy classes. Analysis was conducted using SPSS. This research was approved by the Mercer University's Institutional Review Board., Results: A total of 362 students completed the survey (75% response rate), of which 131 were first-year, 139 were second-year, and 92 were third-year students. There were significant differences in agreement among these classes of students as to whether a program focused on professional engagement was important and helpful (p < 0.001). Seven BPAI statements and five PPI statements demonstrated significant differences in the level of agreement among the professional years. These behaviors include: completing assignments independently and without supervision (p = 0.004); commitment to helping others (p = 0.004); reporting a medication error (p = 0.005); using time efficiently (p = 0.02); and being respectful (p = 0.04)., Discussion: At baseline, 12 statements were significantly different in the level of agreement among the three pharmacy classes. Differences may be explained by perceived professionalism (in first-year students) versus actual professional behaviors (second- and third-year students), as well as breadth and depth of experience. A co-curricular professional engagement program could increase student awareness of professionalism and professional behaviors and be tailored to meet assessed student needs., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective. To assess and compare interprofessional education (IPE) naive pharmacy and nursing student stereotypes prior to completion of an IPE activity. Methods. Three hundred and twenty-three pharmacy students and 275 nursing students at Mercer University completed the Student Stereotypes Rating Questionnaire. Responses from pharmacy and nursing students were compared, and responses from different level learners within the same profession also were compared. Results. Three hundred and fifty-six (59.5%) students completed the survey. Pharmacy students viewed pharmacists more favorably than nursing students viewed pharmacists for all attributes except the ability to work independently. Additionally, nursing students viewed nurses less favorably than pharmacy students viewed nurses for academic ability and practical skills. There was some variability in stereotypes between professional years. Conclusion. This study confirms the existence of professional stereotypes, although overall student perceptions of their own profession and the other were generally positive.