Promoting research readiness and broadening student understanding of and skills for biomedical careers

Undergraduate students in physiology and other life science programs commonly intend to pursue careers in research or health care professions. Often, however, they are poorly prepared for research and are discouraged when they are not accepted into professional programs. To address this, we created Research Readiness and Advancing Biomedical Discoveries, a third-year course for life science students. The course includes a scaffolded research proposal assignment along with online preclass modules and extensive in-class group work on topics such as career planning, project management, and commercialization. To assess the course, we surveyed students both during and 1-3 yr after course completion. Students agreed or strongly agreed that the course prepared them for research opportunities (4.17 ± 0.07, mean ± SE, 5 = strongly agree) and prompted them to consider flexible career paths (4.26 ± 0.06). Of the 63 former students (alumni) who completed the survey (a 29% response rate) almost two-thirds were pursuing advanced degrees, with most of the others in science-related positions. Alumni indicated that the course improved their skill set to achieve future goals (4.14 ± 0.10), consider flexible career paths (4.16 ± 0.10), and prepare for research opportunities (4.00 ± 0.12). The most common themes to the question "What aspects of the course helped with your current career pursuits?" were working in teams (68%) and developing and writing an original research proposal (68%). Our findings will encourage others to contemplate a similar course or activities/assignments and illustrate the value of surveying former students.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> To better prepare students for research and a range of science careers, we designed and delivered a course to develop teamwork, communication, creative, critical thinking, and career planning skills and an understanding of how research is conducted and translated. Student feedback obtained during the course and from alumni who had completed the course 1-3 yr before demonstrates the value of course content, assignments, and group work in fostering learning and shaping career trajectories.