Title

Time Spent at Work and Its Impact on the Academic Performance of Pharmacy Students.

Funding Source

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health

Grant Number

U54 GM104940, D34HP00006-28-0

Department

College of Pharmacy

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2-2020

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of time spent at work (workload) on the academic performance of pharmacy students. A cross-sectional 12-item survey was administered to pharmacy students at the end of the spring 2011 semester to primarily assess the type of employment and their weekly workload during the 2010–2011 academic year. Academic performance was determined by semester and cumulative grade point average (GPA). Descriptive statistics were performed. Stratified multiple linear regression models were obtained to assess the association between students’ workload and GPA. Analysis of covariance was used to compare academic performance by workload after accounting for work type and potential covariates. Statistical significance was defined a priori as p < 0.05. For both fall and spring semesters, nonpharmacy-related work was significant and positively associated with GPA. Both semester GPAs were fairly similar among three student classifications (P1–P3). However, GPAs across both semesters varied by classification. The negative association of workload on GPA was significant in the fall but not in the spring semester. Although workload matters, future studies using a mixed-method approach might help explain the role of workload on the academic performance of pharmacy during the first three years of their professional training.

Comments

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17020496

PubMed ID: 31941053

Funding text

Acknowledgments: This research was supported partially by grant numbers 5 S21 MD 000100-12 and 2U54MD007595-11 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); U54 GM104940 from the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences (NIGMS) of the NIH; and D34HP00006-28-0 from the Health Resource and Service Administration of DHHS. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH, NIMHD, NIGMS, HRSA, or DHHS.

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