Research Tips for Post-graduate Training Applicants

What does it mean to get experience in research as a pharmacy student? This week we break down the relationship between research and scholarship and how it helps candidates get post-graduate training positions. 

Research and scholarship are often used interchangeably. Research means to investigate and seek answers to questions, while scholarship is simply staying up-to-date and knowledgeable in your field of practice. There are many forms of research and scholarship that students can do throughout their training to help stand-out and secure post-graduate positions. 

Having one experience in research and scholarship has become a norm with post-graduate training due to the increased competitiveness. The sooner you can get involved, and the more well-rounded experiences you can have in research and scholarship will make you a more desirable candidate. 

First and foremost, schedule some time with your mentor a faculty member you are close with to discuss strategies to participating in research and scholarship. Determine how much time you have weekly to dedicate to research and scholarship and for how long you want to do this (i.e., just the summer, once a week, once a month, multiple nights per week) without interfering with your other studies. Some examples of research and scholarship include background search to define a research question, IRB approval process, data collection, data analysis, manuscript preparation, quality improvement projects, review articles or topics, and case report creation. This is not an all-inclusive list, and each one of these can have a different range of involvement. 

Even if you have waited until your last year's rotations to get involved with research, it is not too late. Email your preceptors early, even months ahead of time, and open a dialogue about completing research or some form of scholarship with them. 

Having these experiences not only checks a box for post-graduate training application it also prepares you for interviews with programs and what you will experience in post-graduate training. 

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