Nepalese Pharmacy Students' Perceptions Regarding Mental Disorders and Pharmacy Education

Objective. To determine Nepalese pharmacy students' perceptions of whether mental disorders impact performance in pharmacy school. Method. All first- and third-year undergraduate pharmacy students (n=226) in Nepal were invited to complete a modified version of the Mental Illness Performance Scale. Results. Among the 200 respondents (response rate 88.5%), 14% reported that they had a mental disorder. The majority (92%) of third-year students agreed or strongly agreed that depression would interfere with a student's academic performance. Almost half of first-year students agreed or strongly agreed that alcohol or drug abuse would be grounds for both rejecting an applicant from pharmacy school (49%) and dismissal of a student from pharmacy school (46%). Conclusions. Students perceived a high level of academic impairment associated with mental disorders, but the majority did not perceive that mental disorders were grounds for dismissal from or rejection of entry to pharmacy school. Students' attitudes may discourage them from seeking help or providing mental health support to others.