Changes in Working Memory Performance Over an Academic Semester in Student Pharmacists.

Objective. To preliminarily assess changes in Doctor of Pharmacy students' working memory performance over the course of an academic semester and to determine whether any observed changes were associated with fluctuations in stress and fatigue. Methods. Twenty-three PharmD students were recruited for this pilot study. At baseline, data were collected on students' personality, stress, fatigue, and working memory performance using two measures, the operation span and the symmetry span. Approximately every four weeks throughout the semester students' fatigue and stress levels were reassessed and they completed the two measures of working memory. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess trends over time, and correlation analysis was used to assess potential relationships between working memory and other variables. Results. The operation span, a measure of general working memory resources, showed a significant quadratic trend over time. Irrespective of time, some associations between working memory performance and fatigue were seen. Significant correlations between fatigue and the extraversion personality trait were identified. The symmetry span, a measure of visuospatial resources, did not show trends over time nor did it correlate with fatigue, stress, or personality factors. Conclusion. Pharmacy students' working memory performance may fluctuate over the course of a semester, but more research is needed to identify factors that may influence this fluctuation.