Incorporating a wellness initiative into a general medicine advanced pharmacy practice experience

Introduction: Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life Pharmacy educators are in a unique position to bring awareness, engage in discussion, and provide initiatives to improve student wellbeing In a recent study, postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residents most frequently reported the following coping mechanisms: 1) spending time with family and friends;2) staying optimistic;3) engaging in enjoyable activities;4) exercising/sports;5) sleep As result, 5 wellness initiatives (faith, fitness, family/friends, fun, food) were incorporated into a 5-week advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) Research Question or Hypothesis: To determine the impact of a wellness initiative on fourth year pharmacy students' overall wellness during a general medicine APPE Study Design: Prospective, anonymous, electronic survey Methods: A survey was created, pilot-tested, and distributed to 15 pharmacy students completing a general medicine APPE at one community hospital from July 2019 to March 2020 Survey results were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test (SPSS Inc , Version 26) and descriptive statistics Results: A total of 10 surveys were completed (67% response rate) On a scale of 1 to 10, participants reported improved satisfaction with their overall wellness as a result of the rotational activities (median [IQR]: 6 [4 75-10] vs 8 5 [7-10];P = 0 027) Faith discussions were reported as having the greatest impact on student wellness while healthy eating habits had the least Respondents reported fasting from social media had the most positive impact on their wellness, while budgeting had the least positive impact Ninety-percent of participants strongly agreed the wellness initiatives contributed to a positive learning environment during the APPE and moreover were better prepared to cope and find balance during the COVID-19 pandemic Conclusion: Incorporating a wellness initiative into a fourth-year pharmacy APPE had a positive impact on students' overall wellness