Perceived stress levels among undergraduate pharmacy students in the UK

To measure perceived stress levels among the students in a professional pharmacy degree in the United Kingdom (UK), and to compare these to United States (US)-based students. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was employed to measure stress levels among a sample taken from each of the four years of a Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) program. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the independent paired t-test were applied to compare demographic groups from within each sample. The questionnaire was completed by 216 (38.6%) pharmacy students at the University of Hertfordshire. Only the sex of the participant had a significant effect on perceived stress. Stress levels for students in their third year of study were in good agreement with those reported by an earlier study in relation to third-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students at an American university. This pilot study demonstrates that the stress perceived by students in a UK-based undergraduate pharmacy program is comparable to that of US students at the same progression point in a graduate professional degree.