Impact of a ‘Research in pharmacy’ course on students’ self-reported competence and confidence to conduct research: findings from a Malaysian university

• Main Authors: Abubakr, Usman, Elnaem, Mohamed Hassan Abdelaziz, Ahmed, Abdulkareem Mohammed, Zaini, Syahrir, Nahas, Abdul Rahman Fata, Shamsudin, Siti Hadijah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation 2022
• Subjects: R Medicine (General); RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RS Pharmacy and materia medica
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/98146/2/98146_Impact%20of%20a%20%E2%80%98Research%20in%20pharmacy%E2%80%99%20course.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/98146/; https://pharmacyeducation.fip.org/pharmacyeducation/article/view/1717/1346; https://doi.org/10.46542/pe.2022.221.458465
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a ‘Research in Pharmacy’ course on students’ self-reported competence and confidence to plan and conduct pharmacy practice research. Method: This is a pre- and post-intervention study conducted among third year pharmacy undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia using an online questionnaire. A ‘Research in pharmacy’ course which encompassed lectures, tutorials, and practical sessions was delivered over a 14-week period. The students were divided into groups and assigned a project supervisor to guide them in planning and conducting a research project that was completed in one term. Result: Of the 109 students, 69 and 62 completed the questionnaire in the pre- and postintervention periods, respectively. Students’ interest in conducting research and their interest in learning about research was similar in both periods. However, self-reported ability to conduct research increased significantly. Self-reported competence and confidence to conduct most components of research improved significantly (p < 0.05), although, extreme/very competent or confidence level was lower than 50% for most items. Overall, median total competence score (66.0 versus 74.0, p < 0.001) and median total confidence score (66.0 versus 71.5, p < 0.001) increased significantly after the course. Most students were very satisfied/satisfied with the online lectures (54.8%) and online project supervision (64.6%). Lack of time (61.3%) was the major challenge students encountered during the course. Conclusion: A ‘Research in pharmacy' course with both didactic and experiential components improved self-reported competence and confidence to plan and conduct research among pharmacy undergraduate students. Future studies should investigate the facilitators and barriers to students’ interest in pharmacy practice research.