A Research Elective Course on Dietary Supplements to Engage Doctor of Pharmacy Students in Primary Literature Evaluation and Scholarly Activity.

PURPOSE

To develop and implement a research elective course to enhance skills of pharmacy students on primary literature evaluation and evidence-based practice on dietary supplements and generate scholarly publications.

METHODS

A 2 credit hour independent research elective course was designed and implemented in the third-year doctor of pharmacy curriculum. The course involved student-led research activities that included formulating research project, reviewing of primary literature, collection and evaluation of data, and writing of review articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals. An online survey was administered to evaluate students' perceptions of the course.

RESULTS

Students successfully completed the course. The course resulted in peer-reviewed publications through student-faculty collaboration. Pharmacy students enrolled in the elective course perceived that the course helped them enhance their analytical reasoning, critical thinking and drug-literature evaluation skills, gain evidence-based knowledge, and apply the knowledge into practice during their advanced pharmacy practice experiences community pharmacy rotations.

CONCLUSIONS

The course provided opportunity to the pharmacy students to not only critically search and evaluate the literature but also publish in peer-reviewed journals. Other pharmacy schools/colleges can adopt this course model to create opportunities for student-faculty collaborations toward scholarly accomplishments.