Mental Health and Well-Being in Pharmacy Education
Summary
Pharmacy students encounter a complex interplay of academic rigour, professional identity formation and personal development that can place considerable strain on their mental health. Intense coursework, clinical placements and assessments compete with limited time for self-care, social activities and rest. Rising concerns include elevated stress levels, anxiety, depressive symptoms and the risk of burnout, all of which may undermine academic performance and long-term professional resilience. Globally, educators and regulatory bodies recognise that fostering student well-being is essential not only for personal welfare but also for cultivating compassionate, effective pharmacists. Institutions are therefore developing curricular strategies, support services and extracurricular interventions that promote healthy time management, adaptive coping mechanisms and emotional intelligence. By embedding well-being initiatives within pharmacy programmes—ranging from reflective exercises and peer mentoring to targeted resilience training—schools can help students maintain balance, sustain motivation and prepare for the demands of contemporary healthcare.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Mental Health and Well-Being in Pharmacy Education publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in mental health and well-being in pharmacy education across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10): A self-report questionnaire measuring the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS): A 14-item scale assessing positive aspects of mental health, including optimism and relaxation.
Resilience: The capacity to adapt positively in the face of adversity, stress or significant sources of trauma.
Burnout: A syndrome characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment.
Emotional Intelligence: The ability to recognise, understand and manage one’s own emotions and those of others, facilitating effective interpersonal interactions.
References
- There’s no time for no stress! Exploring the relationship between pharmacy student stress and time use. BMC Medical Education (2023).
- Assessment of mental wellbeing of undergraduate pharmacy students from 14 countries: The role of gender, lifestyle, health-related, and academic-related factors. Frontiers in Public Health (2022).
- Pharmacy Students’ Mental Health and Resilience in COVID-19: An Assessment after One Year of Online Education. European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education (2022).
- Check-In: An Educational Activity to Address Well-Being and Burnout among Pharmacy Students. Pharmacy (2020).
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