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

Abubakr, Usman and Elnaem, Mohamed Hassan Abdelaziz and Ahmed, Abdulkareem Mohammed and Zaini, Syahrir and Nahas, Abdul Rahman Fata and Shamsudin, Siti Hadijah (2022) Impact of a ‘Research in pharmacy’ course on students’ self-reported competence and confidence to conduct research: findings from a Malaysian university. Pharmacy Education, 22 (1). 458 -465. ISSN 1560-2214 E-ISSN 1477-2701

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Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Competence; Confidence; Malaysia; Pharmacy practice research; Pharmacy student
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology R Medicine > RS Pharmacy and materia medica
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Pharmacy Kulliyyah of Pharmacy > Department of Pharmacy Practice
Depositing User:	Dr Mohamed Elnaem
Date Deposited:	02 Jun 2022 09:42
Last Modified:	15 Jul 2022 08:31
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/98146

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