Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Articles
    • Current
    • Early Release
    • Archive
    • Rufus A. Lyman Award
    • Theme Issues
    • Special Collections
  • Authors
    • Author Instructions
    • Submission Process
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Call for Papers - Intersectionality of Pharmacists’ Professional and Personal Identity
  • Reviewers
    • Reviewer Instructions
    • Call for Mentees
    • Reviewer Recognition
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • About
    • About AJPE
    • Editorial Team
    • Editorial Board
    • History
  • More
    • Meet the Editors
    • Webinars
    • Contact AJPE
  • Other Publications

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
  • Other Publications
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Advanced Search

  • Articles
    • Current
    • Early Release
    • Archive
    • Rufus A. Lyman Award
    • Theme Issues
    • Special Collections
  • Authors
    • Author Instructions
    • Submission Process
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Call for Papers - Intersectionality of Pharmacists’ Professional and Personal Identity
  • Reviewers
    • Reviewer Instructions
    • Call for Mentees
    • Reviewer Recognition
    • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
  • About
    • About AJPE
    • Editorial Team
    • Editorial Board
    • History
  • More
    • Meet the Editors
    • Webinars
    • Contact AJPE
  • Follow AJPE on Twitter
  • LinkedIn
LetterLETTER TO THE EDITOR

Gender and Minority Considerations in Pharmacy School Student Wellbeing

Katrina W. Randle and Bryan C. McCarthy
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education October 2020, 84 (10) ajpe8143; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe8143
Katrina W. Randle
aRoosevelt University, College of Pharmacy, Schaumburg, Illinois
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Bryan C. McCarthy Jr
bUniversity of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading
Keywords
  • gender
  • minority
  • wellbeing
  • pharmacy student

The recent article by Babal and colleagues explored first year Doctor of Pharmacy students’ viewpoints on individual, educational system, and health care system factors that affected their wellbeing.1 Workload, learning environment, meaningful pharmacy school experiences, relationships, and personal factors were five themes identified in the students’ reflective essays. While these findings are consistent with related wellbeing research, the intent of this letter is to emphasize gender and minority considerations absent among the author-provided themes and supporting quotes that may be more so reflected among pharmacy students across the country.

Among 49 participants in this study, 75% identified as women. It has been reported that female pharmacy students experience significantly higher levels of stress than their male peers in their first and second years in pharmacy school.2 Similarly, female medical students experience reduced self-confidence and increased anxiety relative to their competence despite performing at levels comparable to their male counterparts.3

Spouses and children can influence female pharmacy student wellbeing for better or worse during demanding times. As a female pharmacy student, wife, and mother, I have felt guilty and anxious when the pharmacy school curriculum prevented my full presence in cherished life moments such as a little league baseball game or a dance recital.

Further, minority representation among the study participants was largely limited to Asian ethnicity (14.3%), with no participants who identified as Black or African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, Latino, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islanders. These numbers do not reflect national pharmacy school student ethnicity demographics.4 Pharmacy school minority student experience and wellbeing are unique to respective culture.5 In Asian culture, a high value is often placed upon academic excellence, resulting in intense academic stress for these students.6 African Americans and other minorities have reported experiencing microaggression and discrimination from faculty members and peers at a college of pharmacy.7

As a minority pharmacy student, I have felt self-conscious in pharmacy lectures when disease state discussions indicated that African American ethnicity is a “nonmodifiable” risk factor. This could be construed as an inherent inferiority with respect to race. Alongside historical racism, such as unethical medical experimentation on African Americans or even segregation of schools, this created personal stress about how I was perceived by student colleagues and faculty members.

  • Received May 7, 2020.
  • Accepted July 19, 2020.
  • © 2020 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

REFERENCES

  1. 1.↵
    1. Babal JC,
    2. Abraham O,
    3. Webber S,
    4. et al
    . Student pharmacist perspectives of factors that influence wellbeing during pharmacy school. Am J Pharm Educ. 2018;82(1):6161.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. 2.↵
    1. Votta RJ,
    2. Benau EM
    . Predictors of stress in doctor of pharmacy students: results from a nationwide survey. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2013;5:365-372.
    OpenUrl
  3. 3.↵
    1. Blanch DC,
    2. Hall JA,
    3. Roter DL,
    4. Frankel RM
    . Medical student gender and issues of confidence. Patient Education and Counseling. 2008;72(3):374-381.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  4. 4.↵
    American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. 2017-2018 Profile of Pharmacy Students. https://www.aacp.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/fall-2018-profile-of-pharmacy-students-degrees-conferred.pdf. Accessed October 6, 2020.
  5. 5.↵
    1. Frings D,
    2. Gleibs IH,
    3. Ridley AM
    . What moderates the attainment gap? The effects of social identity incompatibility and practical incompatibility on the performance of students who are or are not Black, Asian or minority ethnic. Social Psychology of Education. 2020;23:171-188.
    OpenUrl
  6. 6.↵
    1. Tan J,
    2. Yates S
    . Academic expectations as sources of stress in Asian students. Social Psychology of Education. 2011;14:389-407.
    OpenUrl
  7. 7.↵
    1. Popovich NG,
    2. Okorie-Awé C,
    3. Crawford SY,
    4. et al
    . Assessing students' impressions of the cultural awareness of pharmacy faculty and students. Am J Pharm Educ. 2018;82(1):6161.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Vol. 84, Issue 10
1 Oct 2020
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Gender and Minority Considerations in Pharmacy School Student Wellbeing
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
3 + 9 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Gender and Minority Considerations in Pharmacy School Student Wellbeing
Katrina W. Randle, Bryan C. McCarthy
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Oct 2020, 84 (10) ajpe8143; DOI: 10.5688/ajpe8143

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Gender and Minority Considerations in Pharmacy School Student Wellbeing
Katrina W. Randle, Bryan C. McCarthy
American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education Oct 2020, 84 (10) ajpe8143; DOI: 10.5688/ajpe8143
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • REFERENCES
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Similar AJPE Articles

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Response to Letter to the Editor Commenting on “Impact of a Yoga and Meditation Intervention on Students”
  • Comments on the Impact of a Yoga and Meditation Intervention on Students
  • Response to “Gender and Minority Considerations in Pharmacy School Student Wellbeing”
Show more LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Keywords

  • gender
  • minority
  • wellbeing
  • pharmacy student

Home

  • AACP
  • AJPE

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Early Release
  • Archive

Instructions

  • Author Instructions
  • Submission Process
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Reviewer Instructions

About

  • AJPE
  • Editorial Team
  • Editorial Board
  • History
  • Contact

© 2023 American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education

Powered by HighWire