A survey and review of attitudes and beliefs of generation X pharmacy students

Objectives. The purpose of this paper was to describe an anonymous survey that was administered to first- and third-year professional pharmacy students at the University of Kentucky. Methods. This survey instrument was modeled after a survey administered and described by Peter Sacks in his text Generation X Goes to College. The survey instrument was meant to ascertain attitudes and beliefs of current Generation X students. Little information is available to determine how closely pharmacy students identify with Generation X characteristics. The aim of this research was to compare and contrast responses of pharmacy students to the responses of non-pharmacy students previously reported. Results. We found that the majority of responses between pharmacy and non-pharmacy students were similar. Conclusions. Generation X students, irrespective of discipline, manifest a collective group of characteristics and traits that may affect learning aptitude. Generation X faculty also may possess similar characteristics. Knowledge and awareness of these traits both by faculty and students may improve teaching and learning.