UTHSC student pharmacists have the opportunity to gain valuable research experience by working with faculty members on research projects through the Special Projects or Research and Scholarship in Pharmacy electives.
In these electives, P2 and P3 students are matched with faculty mentors to work on projects with the goal of creating posters and achieving publication.
Sara Stallworth, a P4 student on the Memphis campus, was matched with College of Pharmacy Dean Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, MBA, FCCP FASHP, FAST, and Christina Spivey, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, for the Special Projects elective. She worked four publications and three posters, analyzing debt and income among pharmacists and other health professionals, examining quality of life, stress, and academic performance among student pharmacists, and evaluating naloxone access in Tennessee pharmacies.
“My elective experience was a pivotal opportunity that taught me the foundational research skills necessary to be successful in all my future research endeavors,” Stallworth said. “I gained a valuable appreciation for all the necessary steps that go into producing a formal manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and developed a passion for professional writing along the way.”
Stallworth said her experience in the elective shaped her into a more competitive pharmacy residency candidate and inspired her to pursue a career in pharmacy academia. She has matched for a PGY1 pharmacy residency at Duke University Hospital.
“These electives provide valuable and necessary experience for student pharmacists to learn research skills and processes from the many experienced faculty members on our campuses,” Dr. Spivey said. “These partnerships between students and faculty members help to further excellent research and education in pharmacy.”
