Measurement of Grit and Correlation to Student Pharmacist Academic Performance

Abstract

Objective. To describe grittiness of students from three pharmacy schools and determine if grit is associated with academic performance measures.

Methods. Pharmacy students completed an electronic questionnaire that included the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Associations were determined using logistic regression.

Results. Grit-S total score was a significant and independent predictor for participants who reported a GPA ≥3.5, and Consistency of Interest (COI) and Perseverance of Effort (POE) domain scores were significantly higher compared to participants with a GPA of 3.0-3.49. Participants reporting a D or F had slightly lower average total Grit-S scores and COI domain scores compared to participants who did not. In addition, the group who reported a GPA <3.0 had lower scores in the POE domain compared to those with a GPA of 3.0-3.4.

Conclusion. Grittiness may be associated with student pharmacist academic performance and the Grit-S Scale may have substantive implications for use in pharmacy programs.