Barriers to and factors influencing the pursuit of pharmacy student research

Development and Pilot Implementation of a Training Framework to Prepare and Integrate Pharmacy Students into a Multicentre Hospital Research Study

“…An American study that focused on pharmacy students' barriers and facilitators that influence research participation showed that 81.8% of 623 surveyed students felt unfamiliarity with the research process was a main barrier to undertaking research. Of interest is that the study also showed that students who were engaged in research during their studies were interested in clinical research and were more likely to pursue postgraduate training opportunities [28]. Our training framework prepared students for their involvement in the research project and facilitated the provision of ongoing support throughout the research placements.…”

Integrating learners into research and quality improvement projects: A joint opinion of the Adult Medicine and Education and Training Practice Research Networks of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy

“…Research can be intimidating for any beginner. 34 This can be mitigated by developing formalized training programs, setting clear research plans and expectations, instituting research contracts, and having detailed project onboarding processes. 16,32,41 Training programs, such as the 12-week summer program described one study, may yield more published full text manuscripts and abstracts.…”

“…This can negatively impact motivation to provide research opportunities 6,30–33 . In addition, without research requirements in their roles, the lack of time, resources, incentives, and/or experience may inhibit research mentorship participation or project success 8,30–35 …”

“…For learners, the motivation to participate in research can be impacted by institutional support, but also by real or perceived barriers before or during the research process. Many learners may not feel prepared in research design, data analysis, or medical writing, which can negatively impact motivation to seek or maintain research involvement 6,30–34 . Another barrier, particularly for student pharmacists, can be familiarity with new practice sites, which would require additional training on the electronic health record, policies, formulary, or practice approaches, prior to integration into a project 9 .…”

“…Despite benefits for all parties involved, the profession often does not prepare learners to be research‐ready due to challenges and barriers to incorporating learners into the research process 6–8,29–34 . The purpose of this paper is to discuss these barriers and provide both mentors and learners strategies, tips, resources and examples for success in these endeavors with perspectives and opinions from members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Adult Medicine and Education and Training Practice Research Networks.…”