University of Mississippi, Department of Pharmacy Administration, University, MS, United States.
University of Mississippi, Department of Pharmacy Administration, University, MS, United States.
Res Social Adm Pharm. 2021 Nov;17(11):1962-1967. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.02.016. Epub 2021 Feb 25.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in pharmacy graduate students' (PhGS) lives. While pharmacy graduate programs across the U.S. have reported adjustments due to the pandemic, there is currently no data on the PhGS' wellness, and the impact on and extent to which offered supports and guidance has met PhGS needs.
This study's objectives were 1) to explore PhGS' perspectives on their challenges and the impact of these challenges on their wellness, and 2) to identify PhGS' suggestions for pharmacy graduate programs to improve guidance and support offered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study conducted semi-structured interviews based on the Objective, Reflective, Interpretative, Decisional (ORID) methodology. Pharmacy students working on completing a PhD in programs across the United States were invited to participate. All interviews were conducted using the Zoom platform between May and June 2020. Digital audio recordings were auto transcribed using the Trint platform. Thematic analysis was conducted using the six-dimensional model of wellness developed by Hettler as a guide, while open coding of the PhGS' suggestions was conducted inductively.
Thirteen PhGS across six universities in the U.S. were interviewed. During the pandemic, all six dimensions of the Wellness model were found to be challenged for PhGS. PhGS' challenges differed based on their laboratory-based vs. non-laboratory-based research settings. International PhGS reported differing challenges from domestic PhGS. PhGS also provided 18 practical suggestions for improving the teaching process and facilitating student's academic growth in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, graduate programs should continue developing a robust and tailored system to encourage and maintain mentorship programs to facilitate graduate students' successful path through their doctoral studies. Moreover, the suggestions offered by the PhGS participants in this study, when appropriately implemented, can also position graduate program success post-pandemic.
COVID-19 大流行导致药学研究生（PhGS）的生活发生了重大变化。虽然美国各地的药学研究生课程都报告了因大流行而进行的调整，但目前尚无关于 PhGS 健康状况的数据，也没有关于所提供的支持和指导是否满足 PhGS 需求以及影响程度的数据。
本研究的目的是 1）探讨 PhGS 对其面临的挑战及其对健康的影响的看法，以及 2）确定 PhGS 对药学研究生课程的建议，以改善 COVID-19 大流行期间提供的指导和支持。
本研究采用基于客观、反思、解释、决策（ORID）方法的半结构式访谈。邀请在美国各地完成博士学位的药学专业学生参加。所有访谈均于 2020 年 5 月至 6 月期间通过 Zoom 平台进行。使用 Trint 平台自动转录数字音频记录。使用 Hettler 开发的六维健康模型作为指南进行主题分析，同时对 PhGS 的建议进行开放式编码。
在美国六所大学的 13 名 PhGS 接受了采访。在大流行期间，所有 PhGS 的六个维度都面临挑战。基于实验室的研究环境与非实验室研究环境的 PhGS 面临不同的挑战。国际 PhGS 报告的挑战与国内 PhGS 不同。PhGS 还针对 COVID-19 大流行背景下提高教学过程和促进学生学术成长提供了 18 条切实可行的建议。
尽管受到 COVID-19 大流行的影响，研究生课程仍应继续制定一个强大而量身定制的系统，以鼓励和维持指导计划，为研究生顺利完成博士研究提供便利。此外，本研究中 PhGS 参与者提出的建议，如果得到适当实施，也可以为研究生课程在大流行后取得成功奠定基础。
