Newer Generation Pharmacy Students Increasingly Prioritizing Self-Care, Individual Goals

Life priorities of postmillenial pharmacy students may be shifting to be more individualistic and centered on self-help, prompting the modernization of student support mechanisms, according to a study published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

Researchers conducted an exploratory study of fourth-year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at the University of Otago in New Zealand. The 2020 study included 110 students that were in a professional skills laboratory session and born after 1996.

Student participants filled out the Wheel of Life to identify their top 8 life priorities and self-assess their perceived satisfaction with each on a scale of 1 to 10. They also created anti-goals, aiming to avoid situations that would negatively impact wellbeing and resilience.

According to the findings, 88% of the students identified 8 life priorities.

Postmillennial life priorities included family, finances, health, friends/relationships, study, career prospects, fitness, and personal growth. These priorities contrasted with results from previous generations’ Wheel of Life which included work, finances, spiritual, social, self, hobbies, family, and health. However, the most frequently reported life priorities in the postmillennial group (family, finance, and health) coincided with those of previous generations.

“This finding may suggest that, irrespective of current living status, these priorities transcend different generations,” authors noted. “An interesting finding, however, was that the other top-rated priority areas (specifically, career and study) differed from the traditional priorities, which may reflect generational change.”

Study authors identified 2 themes in students’ anti-goals: being present, which included having daily contact with family and prioritizing daily exercise; and being prepared, which included budgeting and developing better study habits.

“Interestingly, anti-goals were not found to be greatly associated with life priority areas (22.1% categorized as ‘other’),” researchers noted. “A possible explanation is that students worked towards achieving life-balance by focusing on specific skills that relate to multiple priorities (eg, general organization) in order to be more prepared and present within each larger priority area.”

Researchers recommended that educational institutions be aware of the potential shift in students’ life priorities and design initiatives to support students in seeking life-balance. Specific recommendations included preparation for career opportunities and curricular interventions to promote self-care and mental wellbeing.

Reference:
Dresser JD, Whitfield KM, Kremer LJ, Wilby KJ. Exploring how postmillennial pharmacy students balance life priorities and avoid situation known to deplete resilience. Am J Pharm Educ. 2021;85(4)8369. doi:10.5688/ajpe8369