Effects of actual participation in drug testing on the attitudes of first-year pharmacy students toward a mandatory drug testing program

BackgroundPrevious research revealed that matriculating first-year pharmacy students held generally favorable opinions about mandatory drug testing despite expressing definite concerns regarding practical issues. The objective of this study was to examine the changes in their attitudes toward drug testing as the result of actual participation in drug testing.MethodsThe study was an anonymous, voluntary survey that was composed of 30 pretested Likert-type questions relating to knowledge, concerns, and beliefs about drug testing. The survey was administered during orientation week (pre-testing) and then again at the end of the academic year (post-testing).ResultsThe survey was completed by 129 (100%) students in the pre-testing phase and 91 (71%) students in the post-testing phase. Nine items showed statistically significant changes from pre- to post-testing. Interestingly, there was greater agreement with various concerns about drug testing, including cost of testing, being called for testing when busy with other matters, accidentally missing drug testing, consequences of missing drug testing, and being in situations in which showing up for drug testing would be difficult to impossible. Students’ responses revealed less agreement that drug screening had the potential to decrease illegal substance use among students and that it was important to detect a substance use problem in a pharmacist.ConclusionFirst-year pharmacy students’ attitudes toward drug testing remained generally positive and were relatively unaffected by their actual participation in drug testing during the academic year; however, some concerns about drug testing were heightened, and changes in two of the belief questions were rather disconcerting.