Stress and Basic Need Satisfaction of First-Year Healthcare Professional Students.

Purpose: Transitioning to graduate-level professional school can trigger stressful feelings for many students. The purpose of this study was to determine the stress levels and unmet basic needs of first-year graduate healthcare students during their transition from undergraduate institutions to professional school.

Methods: The study was conducted at Midwestern University, a private, graduate-level, professional health sciences university located in the Midwest, during the 2018-2019 academic year.

An Online, Self-directed Pharmacy Bridging Course for Incoming First-Year Students.

To evaluate the short-term effectiveness of an online bridging course to increase the knowledge of struggling incoming students' in crucial content areas within the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. An assessment was administered to all incoming first-year pharmacy students (N=180) during orientation to determine their foundational knowledge in key areas. Students who scored <70% on the assessment (N=137) were instructed to complete a 10-module, online, self-directed bridging course focusing on physiology, biochemistry, math, and medical terminology during the first two weeks of the quarter to prepare them for first-quarter coursework.