ACADEMIC CONCEPT PAPER

“Succeeding Millennial Pharmacists: A Descriptive Study of How Stress Impacts the Online
Internship Experience among 4th Year Pharmacy College Students
at San Pedro College SY 2021-2022”
Introduction
An increasing number of students see work-based learning activities such as internships as
important parts of a college education. With the arrival of COVID-19, everyone's lives and our
society as a whole have changed significantly. Students will potentially be negatively impacted
by this move, as it will influence many parts of the learning environment, especially courses that
incorporate outside experiences such as student internship programs. Students were anxious in
the face-to-face setting, but the online setting felt novel to students in this new atmosphere. As a
result, this study will aid in learning more about the adverse impacts of stress on the fourth-year
pharmacy students at San Pedro College, who are using the online system for their internship
this school year, and how they are coping under these conditions. For this research, challenges
from online internships will be taken into consideration. This notion relies on previous studies in
the pharmacy industry that have delved into the numerous components that affect stress levels
in 4th year pharmacy students who are interning online.

Need for this Study

Only 22% of college students did an internship, half were in-person positions, and intern quality
indicators were low, according to a recent study performed by the Center for Research on
College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison).
During the multi-site case study, Hora (2021) found that nearly all of the student interns they
interacted with were in some kind of distress, whether it was money, mental health, or physical
health. In addition, the pandemic had a severe impact on the internships market as a whole.
Due to technology issues, such as limited internet connection, outdated equipment, poor contact
with supervisors, and so on, these internships now have a host of negative factors associated
with them.

The stress students experience while participating in online internships differs from that seen
elsewhere as it might impact not only the students themselves, but their future workplaces as
well. The concept will therefore be intended to identify the stressors that affect 4th year
pharmacy students that can be a guideline in making new strategies to help 4th year interns
manage stress.

Background
Studies have concluded that, in comparison to traditional on-site internships, online internships
have less satisfaction, less development of 21st-century abilities, a smaller network of
professionals, and only high-skill activities. In the multi-case site study on Exploring Online
Internships Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020–2021, Hora (2021) stated that while
considering all aspects of the system, it is clear that online internships will have a permanent
place in the ecosystem of experiential learning for college students, and may be a potential
solution to some of the difficulties surrounding equal access, they remain a work in progress.
The findings in the journal article by Park et al (2017) revealed that supervisors are still widely
viewed as the most essential component in determining interns' good learning experience.
Moreover, McGregor (2020) and Moreno (2020) mentioned that even though virtual internships
have been available in the past, worries have persisted about their quality and interns' ability to
foster sufficient informal learning, like seeing office culture and professional norms.

Related studies fail to answer specific questions about the hurdles that online internships put
students through. The majority of the studies were dedicated to figuring out why online
internships affect students negatively. The goal of this study will be to determine how stress in
4th year pharmacy college students impacts their online internships.

Objective
This research paper aims to accomplish its general objective of how stress impacts the online
internship experience among 4th year Pharmacy college students at San Pedro College SY
2021-2022 by giving emphasis on the following objectives:
1. To determine the possible causes of stress experienced by the 4th year interns in an
online internship setting.

2. To determine the advantages and disadvantages of online internship.

3. To evaluate how 4th year students are able to keep stress levels in check when working
as interns in online environments.

4. To suggest possible solutions in dealing stress by coping with the challenges during
online internship.

Research Questions and/or Hypothesis

In this study, the researchers can select to answer either questions from the research literature
and especially from the research objectives and test at the end of the research whether they
were accepted or not.
1. What are possible causes of stress experienced by the 4th year interns in online
internship setting?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an online internship?

3. How are 4th year students able to keep stress levels in check when working as interns in
online environments?

4. What are the possible solutions in dealing with the stress of coping with the challenges
during an online internship?

Methodology
This study plans to use Quantitative Non-Experimental Descriptive research with the use of
purposive sampling in survey questionnaires to determine how stress affects the online
internships of 4th year Pharmacy college students at San Pedro College SY 2021-2022. The

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data collection of this study includes both primary and secondary data gathering with limited
respondents in every section of the said college level. The most recognized of descriptive
statistics are measures of center: the mean, median, and mode, which are used at almost all
levels of math and statistics. In line with this, another statistical tool will include SPSS or known
as the Statistical Package for Social Sciences which is a software that provides summarized
data that can assist in analyzing the results.

Research Timeline
This project is intended to be accomplished in 20 weeks in corresponding to fulfilling the
following activities indicated for every section of the said research study:

Research Section Duration

1. Title 1 week

2. Introduction 1 week

3. Need for this Study 1 week

4. Background 2 weeks

5. Objectives 2 week

6. Research Questions and or Hypothesis 2 weeks

7. Research Methodology 3 weeks

8. Data analysis interpretations and discussions 3 weeks

9. Summary conclusion and recommendations 3 weeks

10. Reviewing work for final submission 2 weeks

References
Gray K. Study shows impact of pandemic on internships [Internet]. Naceweb.org. [cited 2021
Sep 8]. Available from:
https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/internships/study-shows-impact-of-pandemic-
on-internships/

Park M, Jones T. Going virtual: The impact of COVID-19 on internships in tourism, events, and
hospitality education. J hosp tour educ. 2021;33(3):176–93.

Hora MT, Lee C, Chen Z, Hernandez A. Exploring online internships amidst the COVID-19
pandemic in 2020–2021: Results from a multi-site case study [Internet]. Wisc.edu. [cited
2021 Sep 8]. Available from:
https://wcer.wisc.edu/docs/working-papers/WCER_Working_Paper_No_2021_5_4.pdf

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Feldman E. Virtual internships during the COVID‐19 pandemic and beyond. New Horiz Adult
Educ Hum Resour Dev. 2021;33(2):46–51.

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