STEERing an IDeA in Undergraduate Research at a Rural Research Intensive University

Abstract

This study documents outcomes, including student career choices, of the North Dakota Institutional Development Award Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence program that provides 10-week, summer undergraduate research experiences at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Program evaluation initiated in 2008 and, to date, 335 students have completed the program. Of the 335, 214 students have successfully completed their bachelor’s degree, 102 are still undergraduates, and 19 either did not complete a bachelor’s degree or were lost to follow-up. The program was able to track 200 of the 214 students for education and career choices following graduation. Of these 200, 76% continued in postgraduate health-related education; 34.0% and 20.5% are enrolled in or have completed MD or PhD programs, respectively. Other postbaccalaureate pursuits included careers in pharmacy, optometry, dentistry, public health, physical therapy, nurse practitioner, and physician’s assistant, accounting for an additional 21.5%. Most students electing to stop formal education at the bachelor’s degree also entered fields related to health care or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (19.5%), with only a small number of the 200 students tracked going into service or industries which lacked an association with the health-care workforce (4.5%). These student outcomes support the concept that participation in summer undergraduate research boosts efforts to populate the pipeline of future researchers and health professionals. It is also an indication that future researchers and health professionals will be able to communicate the value of research in their professional and social associations. The report also discusses best practices and issues in summer undergraduate research for students originating from rural environments.

Impact and Outcomes of the Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence Summer Undergraduate Research Program

“…More importantly, the comprehensive evaluation components that have been built into the OK-INBRE program to track program effectiveness at different stages of the learning continuum is forward-thinking, as this may be the first opportunity to assess a program by comparing participants with a control group with similar demographic and academic profiles. Like results reported by similar programs in Kansas and North Dakota (25, 26), findings from the analysis of both primary and secondary data available provide evidence that the OK-INBRE program serves as one of the valuable resources for the state of Oklahoma in exposing students to the science and medical fields and motivating them to further their education in these areas. These efforts may help to build a new generation of scientists and healthcare professionals for Oklahoma.…”

“…These results are comparable with two other published studies reporting on outcomes of similar IDeA-sponsored undergraduate research programs from North Dakota and Kansas. Similar to OK-INBRE participants who completed undergraduate degrees in Oklahoma, where 80% of them are pursing or have completed a graduate degree (MS or PhD) in the sciences, 20% are pursing or have completed a MD/DO degree, and another 19% are enrolled in or have completed a health sciences–related degree, 21%, 34%, and 22% of research program graduates in North Dakota are pursing or have completed a PhD degree, are pursing or have completed a MD/DO degree, and are enrolled in or have completed a health sciences-related degree, respectively (25). In Kansas, 37% of research program graduates are pursing or have completed a PhD degree, 19% are pursing or have completed a MD/DO degree, and 12% are enrolled or have completed a health sciences–related degree (26).…”

“…In Kansas, 37% of research program graduates are pursing or have completed a PhD degree, 19% are pursing or have completed a MD/DO degree, and 12% are enrolled or have completed a health sciences–related degree (26). It is worth noting that North Dakota and Kansas programs were only able to report descriptive statistics on degree enrollment and completion outcomes, while the Oklahoma program was able to apply statistical analyses to determine whether these differences across categories were significant (25, 26). The OK-INBRE findings are also consistent with prior publications indicating that experiences in a research program can improve participation and persistence, often by strengthening students’ views of themselves as scientists (23).…”

Postbaccalaureate terminal degree and career choices of students who performed undergraduate research

“…The program has previously published the career outcomes from the 10-wk Summer Undergraduate Research program sponsored by the ND INBRE's home RIU, the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (12). However, the program has not independently examined the career choices of terminal degree students from the ND INBRE (R1 INBRE) program and that of the REU (R1 REU) program who were combined for career tracking of the students (see Table 2).…”

“…One measure of undergraduate research impact on student interest in the STEM disciplines is success in the attainment of the undergraduate degree itself, completion of postbaccalaureate degrees, and the students' ultimate career choices. Previous studies by the authors have provided evidence by tracking student career choices that an undergraduate biomedical research experience enhances student entry into the health and service professions (11,12).…”