Motivational methods for first year pharmacy students in professional practice skills laboratory

Objective: To determine the effects of adding motivational quotes, videos, and poems into the first-year skills lab course at the University of Florida, College of Pharmacy. Methods: A cross-sectional study assessed first-year pharmacy students' enrolled in practice skills laboratory I and II courses responses to a questionnaire regarding a motivational method employed in those courses. Results: The majority of students (68% to 88%, n=231) survey responses, focusing on the model's overall impact, answered, "moderately agree"' or "agree" or "strongly agree". When reviewing which motivational modality was most helpful, approximately 39% identified videos as the most valuable. Additionally, gender was found to be significantly different for certain questions in the survey. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that students found value in motivational activities prior to the beginning of each class. Students identifying as female found greater value in specific questions, including questions regarding personal values and ethics, and a positive difference in their personal life.