Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37322463›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2023

Academic resilience in UK pharmacy education - a pilot study applying love and break up letters methodology.

Andrew Mawdsley, Sarah C Willis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Andrew MawdsleyDivision of Pharmacy and Optometry, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13, UK. Andrew.mawdsley@manchester.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6427-3599
Sarah C WillisManagement and Policy Division, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAcademic resilience is seen as a positive attribute that supports academic attainment and protects against attrition and burnout. Studies have reported that UK pharmacy students have lower academic resilience and wellbeing than the general UK student population but the reasons for this have not been established. This study pilots the use of a novel methodology, love and break-up letter methodology (LBM), to explore these issues focusing on the lived experience of pharmacy students.

methodFinal year undergraduate pharmacy study were purposely recruited to the study. Employing LBM, each participant was invited to write reflective love and break-up letters to their academic resilience in higher education during a focus group. Letters and transcripts of subsequent focus group discussion on the feelings and ideas expressed in the letters were thematically analysed.

resultsThree meta-themes were identified within the data; the curriculum as gas lighting; the curriculum as abusive; and the curriculum as controlling. Students described how the curriculum diminishes academic resilience by working against their sense of agency and self-esteem. A constant threat of failure emerged as defining the student lived experience; students felt controlled by a curriculum with negative impacts on wellbeing and perseverance. DISCUSSION: This is the first study to use LBM to explore academic resilience in UK pharmacy students. The results provide evidence that some students view the pharmacy curriculum as a source of relentless adversity that is responsible for promoting a hidden negative connection between students and their education. Further study is required to determine if the results can be generalised across the UK pharmacy student body to explain why UK pharmacy students have lower academic resilience than other UK university students and the steps needed to improve academic resilience in UK pharmacy students.

Indexed as

Education, PharmacyStudents, PharmacyCurriculumHumansLovePilot ProjectsUnited KingdomAcademic resilienceAdversityBurnoutCurriculumHidden curriculumLived experienceMental healthPharmacyPharmacy educationResilienceWellbeing

Identifiers

PMID37322463
PMCPMC10268453

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.