By Courtney Dawson
Sleepless nights, endless cups of coffee, and exercise long forgone. For many student pharmacists, this is simply a way of life. The stress of academics compounded with extracurricular commitments and employment often leads to the development of habits that are far from ideal. That is why I recently participated in a research study at The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, which observed the self-reported health status and health behaviors of student pharmacists.
As future health professionals, student pharmacists learn to educate patients about the importance of practicing healthy behaviors and gain a vast knowledge of all the benefits that occur when engaging in certain activities, as well as the detrimental effects of others. Considering that student pharmacists have such a clear and meaningful understanding of the importance of healthy behaviors, it may be expected that they as a whole are a healthy subset. However, this is not always the case.
While the study is specific to students at The University of Iowa, it may be assumed that the rigor of the curriculum is considerably similar across institutions. After all, the trials and tribulations of pharmacy school are a shared experience.
“Real-life” realities
The survey results indicated that approximately one-fifth of the student population felt that their health was worse than 1 year ago, and more than one-half reported exercising two times or fewer per week. Many students sleep fewer than 6 hours per night on average and one-third consume at least one alcoholic beverage more than twice a week. In short, according to the very curriculum causing them strain, student pharmacists do not sleep enough, exercise enough, or eat healthy enough to sustain and promote health.
The PharmD curriculum is indeed rigorous and is likely a strong contributor to the struggle to practice healthy behaviors. However, our study also wanted to explore some of the additional potential explanations for suboptimal behaviors, including employment commitments and financial stress. More than 75% of students reported having significant education-related debt, and more than one-third work at least 12 hours per week.
The clash between academics and other obligations is something that is often candidly discussed amongst myself and my peers. We often joke about spending time doing “real-life” things on evenings when taking a brief break from our studies. What are these extravagant “real-life” activities? Laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and other basic activities that are necessary to be a functional adult. Yet those acts feel so separate from our everyday lives as students. The balance is delicate and complex, and often leads to forgoing “real-life” things in order to study. These things forgone are likely a large contributing factor to poor
health habits adopted by some students.
Finding my balance
There is no obvious solution to this issue, as just by being a student pharmacist, one seems to struggle to practice healthy behaviors. It seems intuitive that a health-centered education would lead to better health behaviors, but our brief study has shown that is not necessarily the case. Perhaps the very nature of health programs is to force their students to prioritize in such a way that may be damaging to one’s health, at least temporarily.
Personally, I have seen a shift in my own priorities as I have progressed through pharmacy school. While I once would study day and night forsaking sleep and exercise, I now maintain a sustainable schedule and ensure that I sleep at least 5 hours a night, regardless of my state of preparedness. Maybe that is simply a part of my education, learning how to harmonize my stressors and commitments with my goals and self-care.
I can only assume that this informal education will continue to translate to life on rotations and as a practicing pharmacist. As an individual, I feel fortunate to have found a balance that works for me and allows me to care for my health while still pursuing my education. However, the results of our study combined with my personal experiences lead me to wonder whether or not there is something more that can be done?
Perhaps “real-life” things should be discussed and encouraged as part of the curriculum instead of being seen as a competing interest. After all, understanding how to care for oneself is equally as important as how to care for one’s patient.