Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to discover how a diverse pharmacy student population in the United Kingdom engages with academic and non-academic support, and what might prevent them from doing so.
Methods: Pharmacy students (in all years of study) completed an online survey seeking information on: demographics; confidence in studying; and where/how students seek academic and personal support. The survey outcomes were statistically analysed to compare differences between Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and white students.
Results: When seeking help from academic staff, 38.8% of BAME students felt they were negatively perceived. All students are significantly more likely to seek help for academic issues than for personal and well-being ones, with most students preferring to ask family and friends rather than university support mechanisms.
Conclusion: The results strongly indicate that support mechanisms present within universities to help students are seldom utilised and may explain the reduced academic performance of both white and BAME students.
Methods: Pharmacy students (in all years of study) completed an online survey seeking information on: demographics; confidence in studying; and where/how students seek academic and personal support. The survey outcomes were statistically analysed to compare differences between Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and white students.
Results: When seeking help from academic staff, 38.8% of BAME students felt they were negatively perceived. All students are significantly more likely to seek help for academic issues than for personal and well-being ones, with most students preferring to ask family and friends rather than university support mechanisms.
Conclusion: The results strongly indicate that support mechanisms present within universities to help students are seldom utilised and may explain the reduced academic performance of both white and BAME students.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 584-594 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Pharmacy Education |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Jun 2022 |
Bibliographical note
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Keywords
- Academic support
- BAME
- Ethnicity
- help seeking
- MPharm
- Race
- Sense of belonging
- Well-being