Objective. To examine the influence of the fear of missing out (FOMO) on student pharmacists' postgraduate career decisions, specifically on whether to pursue a residency. Methods. A 14-item FOMO scale was designed to examine the influence of this factor on student pharmacists' residency decision. A survey was distributed to second-, third-, and fourth-year student pharmacists at four participating universities. Average FOMO scores were compared based on residency intentions. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict residency intentions based on students' average FOMO scores. Results. The survey response rate was 74%. Of the 833 respondents, 42% indicated an intention to pursue residency training. Students indicated the FOMO items were "slightly" true of them, as evidenced by the overall FOMO mean score of 2.0 on a 5-point scale. Comparison among classes revealed a higher mean FOMO score among students in the second year of the pharmacy curriculum than among students in the third and fourth years. Logistic regression analysis indicated that FOMO score can reliably distinguish between students with residency intentions and those without. Conclusion. This study supports the existence of FOMO in the decision to pursue a pharmacy residency, although more research and scale refinement is needed to better identify its impact.
Keywords: fear of missing out; pharmacy residency; postgraduate career decisions; student pharmacists.
© 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.