Impacts of a University Research Assistant Program: The First Decade

Sharon R Smith; Adrienne Nguyen; Danielle Chenard; Kristin Burnham; Arlene Albert

doi:10.1007/s40670-023-01852-6

Impacts of a University Research Assistant Program: The First Decade

Med Sci Educ. 2023 Sep 9;33(5):1139-1146. doi: 10.1007/s40670-023-01852-6. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Sharon R Smith¹, Adrienne Nguyen², Danielle Chenard³, Kristin Burnham², Arlene Albert²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Emergency Medicine, CT Children's, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Hartford, CT USA.
² University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT USA.
³ CT Children's, Hartford, CT USA.

PMID: 37886277
PMCID: PMC10597947 (available on 2024-10-01)
DOI: 10.1007/s40670-023-01852-6

Abstract

Purpose: There is a declining number of physician-scientists. Little is published about the potential for university student experiences to contribute to the pipeline of future researchers. The purpose of this study was to describe a unique university research program and report the outcomes of the first 10 years.

Method: The University Research Assistant Program (URAP) was described including course content, research experiences, and student composition. Outcomes of URAP student contributions to the literature and research presentations was reported. URAP students were also surveyed to assess their perspectives on the impact of the URAP program on career choices after graduation.

Results: URAP began as an independent study course and grew into for-credit university courses. A total of 212 students have taken at least one semester and 88 responded to the survey. All students who participated in URAP have graduated, and 77% (n = 68) reported the URAP program prepared them to reach their career goals. Most graduates pursued health care careers including medical school (55%), Master's programs in health care (29%), or PhD in health care (5%). URAP students participated in research involving 11 different pediatric subspecialties. Many attained co-authorship of abstracts and publications, 53 first-authored an abstract presentation and 7 manuscripts.

Conclusions: URAP significantly influenced university students who overwhelmingly entered health care fields. While difficult to assess if these early experiences will influence participation as future physician -scientists, these students made meaningful research contributions while enrolled in these courses.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01852-6.

Keywords: Program; Research; University; Workforce.

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