Abstract

FROM RESEARCH ACTIVITY TO RESEARCH PARTICIPATION: UNIVERSITY OF BELIZE 2ND YEAR PHARMACY STUDENTS RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Danladi Chiroma Husaini*, Yusuf Abubakar and Lydia Harris-Thurton

Abstract

Objective: Students involved in scientific research experience have reported many benefits that improved their overall learning process and research skills. The University of Belize (UB) pharmacy program was recently upgraded from a professional 3-year associate degree to a 5-year bachelors degree. Research methodology course is part of the syllabus for the 5-year bachelors training. This pilot study introduced the 2nd year pharmacy students to a course-based grade-bearing research with a view to assessing the student's perception towards conducting future undergraduate research and to explore the benefits of grade-bearing course-based research in reinforcing learning. Method: Mixed research design was utilized for this study. After extensive briefing on research methodology, students were involved in questionnaire design, distribution and collection of data from other students on campus. Students described their research participation experiences using semi-structured questions as guidelines. Results of student’s experiences were analyzed and presented. Result: All the students reported a high perception of the benefits of conducting or being involved in undergraduate research projects with a low perception of the challenges experienced in conducting the study. Majority of the students reported experiencing personal benefits in conducting research and overall, the reported negative challenges to conducting an actual undergraduate research was low as compared to the benefits experienced. Conclusion: The high perception and reported personal benefits of students who participated in credit-bearing undergraduate research can be explored by faculty to reinforce learning at the University of Belize. The inclusion of course-based research in the upgraded bachelors of pharmacy program can be of tremendous to the students as it helps to reinforce concepts and motivate a life-long learning culture. Participating in experiential credit-bearing course-based research will inspire students to pursue research in pharmacy related practice and various fields of study.

Keywords: pharmacy research, pharmacy education, experiential learning, students, Belize.