A Call to Action for Fostering Social Connectivity with Student Pharmacists

By: Jaclyn Boyle, PharmD, MS, MBA, BCACP, FASHP and Cody Thompson, PharmD student

Social Connectivity & Classroom Climate

Did you know that feeling isolated increases your risk of premature death to that of someone who smokes 15 cigarettes a day?¹ Isolation contributes to  many significant adverse health outcomes.¹ In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy,  issued an advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness and isolation.¹  Dr. Murthy’s report discusses what informs social connection, stating, “Our connection with others and our community is also informed by our neighborhoods, digital environments, schools, and workplaces.”¹ Faculty can inform learners of  the importance and impact of social connection. A survey of over 76,000 undergraduate and graduate students from academic year 2022-2023 reported that 41% of students experienced depression during the past year, and 71% of students reported feeling lonely or isolated.² Dr. Murthy’s report further cites six ways we can improve social connectivity.¹ Many of these concepts apply to our classrooms and campuses. Faculty can have a role to play in mitigating the crisis of social isolation amongst our learners. 

How can we foster a socially-connected classroom?

Faculty can foster socially-connected environments. The following list of activities combines lived experiences and ideas from the literature to create community: 

Location	Suggestions	Supporting Evidence
In the classroom	Host group discussions that support relationship development and shared learning: Implement icebreakers  Pose non-content-related discussions and have students share similarities and differences  Have students create ‘about me’ presentations and post to a discussion board	The Social Classroom.
	Engage students in reflecting on their well-being: Conduct a ‘check in’ during didactic or experiential learning Assign reflections related to evaluating their well-being Host wellness programs within the APPE year	Student Pharmacist Perspectives on Factors That Influence Wellbeing During Pharmacy School.  Student perspectives on caring and connectedness in the PharmD classroom.  Implementation and impact of a fourth-year student pharmacist wellness series pilot on perceived stress and support.
	Intentionally assign students for group work: Take inventory of students’ strengths/learning preferences Have students’ provide peer feedback Create ‘Communities of Practice’ or ‘Learning Communities’	The Social Classroom.  Improving the Social Connectivity in Engineering Educational Networks and Implications. Communities of Practice and Medical Education.  Implementation and evaluation of a pharmacy family program to foster community and inclusion.
	Intentionally design class materials for social connection:  Incorporate a Backchannel (TodaysMeet, Padlet, etc) Design resources that build connection with remote learners	Twitter as an In-Class Backchannel Tool in a Large Required Pharmacy Course.  Developing student connectedness under remote learning using digital resources:
Outside the classroom	Design co-curricular activities that foster social connection: Events focused on identifying shared interests	A co-curricular interprofessional activity to facilitate socialization and meaningful student engagement.
	Create Structures to identify and intervene with students who feel disconnected: Have a system that identifies social isolation through validated tools such as the Health-Related Quality of Life scale Offer ways to connect to peers (study groups, organizations)  Connect students to support (student affairs, counseling, learning/writing services)	Factors associated with health-related quality of life of student pharmacists.   Implementation and impact of a fourth-year student pharmacist wellness series pilot on perceived stress and support.  Perceived stress and quality of life among doctor of pharmacy students.
	Create support networks for students: Establish peer mentoring and faculty advising programs  Connect students to resources(student affairs, counseling, learning/writing services)	Establishment of a peer-mentoring program for student pharmacists.  Impact of student to student peer mentoring program in first year of pharmacy program.   Making a Case for Faculty Advisor-Advisee Concordant Pairs. 2022-2023 Healthy Minds Data Report.

This list is just a starting point. It would be valuable to share further ideas and determine the impact of these ideas in boosting connection. This brings to light many other discussions about how faculty can monitor and address students’ feelings of belonging, well-being, and connectedness. How can we best support pharmacy learners’ social needs? 

Acknowledgements: 

The authors would like to thank Sara Dugan, PharmD, BCPP, BCPS for consulting about this topic and providing a reference for this article.  

References:

1. U.S. Public Health Service: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation 2023: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. Available from:  https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf. Accessed on November 21, 2023. 
2. 2022-2023 Healthy Minds Data Report. Available from: https://healthymindsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/HMS_National-Report-2022-2023_full.pdf. Accessed on November 21, 2023.
3. Supiano B. The Social Classroom: Available from: https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-social-classroom?emailConfirmed=true&supportSignUp=true&supportForgotPassword=true&email=jboyle2%40neomed.edu&success=true&code=success&bc_nonce=emcd1x55jd855ot3es0gts. Accessed on November 21, 2023.
4. Mohaisen M, Mohaisen B. Improving the Social Connectivity in Engineering Educational Networks and Implications.” IEEE Transactions on Education. 2023; 66(1):30-37. doi: 10.1109/TE.2022.3175659.

---

Author Bio(s):

---

Pulses is a scholarly blog supported by a team of pharmacy education scholars