Starting on the 4 February and running until Student Mental Health Day on 4 March, we’re teaming up with the British Pharmaceutical Student’s Association (BPSA) for #LetsTalkMH, a four-week campaign dedicated to supporting pharmacy students and trainees to manage mental health and wellbeing.

In lockdown 3.0 and beyond it’s more important than ever that we find ways to support the future of pharmacy. 

In conjunction with the BPSA, we aim to build a safe space for students to talk about how you feel. We’re offering guidance, tips and handy tools that you and your peers can use to manage your wellbeing, in the hope to dismantle any existing stigmas around mental health.

For the next month, there will be a wide range of ways to benefit from the Let’s Talk Mental Health campaign. These include:

• Wednesday Webinars hosted by the BPSA, Pharmacist Support and the RPS
• Resources and publications developed by the BPSA
• Stories written by students and trainee pharmacists on Pharmacist Support’s wellbeing hub

Why are we focusing on the mental health and
wellbeing of MPharm students and trainees? 

We know from our joint survey with the BPSA last year that the closure of universities has significantly impacted pharmacy students’ mental health. With universities closing, assessments out of the window and routines dwindling, you’ve had to cope with a huge amount of change in the last year.

We found that three quarters of pharmacy students and trainees weren’t feeling motivated, and half of the respondents said they were struggling to sleep and were feeling down, depressed or hopeless. Unsurprisingly, 66% of respondents also told us that they were feeling anxious. Despite a clear need for support, a staggering 85% of pharmacy students and trainees said that they weren’t using any services to manage their wellbeing. As the profession’s charity, we want to be there for you, our pharmacy family, whenever you need us. That’s why we’ve committed to work even closer with organisations across the sector to make sure we’re giving you right type of support.

Our Chief Exec, Danielle Hunt, is delighted to be teaming up with BPSA once more, saying, “The pressures that the sector is facing due to Covid-19 have had an undeniable negative impact on our pharmacy family’s wellbeing. That’s why campaigns like #LetsTalkMH are so important – we can’t prevent another pandemic, but we can give future pharmacy professionals the tools to support and protect their mental health.”

Sean Brannen, President of the BPSA says: “Mental health and student wellbeing is essential during this pandemic but also throughout our lives and careers. We are proud to be working with Pharmacist Support to showcase the amazing work they do and to make sure every student has the information they need to deal with their own wellbeing.”

We’re celebrating our 180th birthday this year! As part of #LetsTalkMH, the BPSA are inviting all pharmacy students and trainees in Great Britain to take part in ‘Make Your Miles Count’ – a fundraising challenge to mark our charitable milestone whilst helping you to look after your mental health.  

We might not be able to fundraise face-to-face, but we can still pull together as a team to show MPharm students and trainees you’re not alone with your mental health. Whether you’re a runner, walker, swimmer, cyclist, roller skater or more (we’re not picky!), join the BPSA’s team challenge on Strava where you can log any exercise completed and help us to achieve our collective goal of 180 miles. 

Any funds you raise for ‘Make Your Miles Count’ will go to Pharmacist Support, to help us to continue supporting our pharmacy family’s wellbeing at a time when it’s needed most. You can also purchase a limited edition #LetsTalkMH
t-shirt from the BPSA and the profit made will be donated to Pharmacist Support too. 

Priotitising your mental health will be essential throughout your career in pharmacy so get involved with #LetsTalkMH and take the first steps to better wellbeing.