Qatar University’s(QU) College of Pharmacy (CPH) final year students recently presented their graduation poster virtually. There were a total of 22 poster presentations.
The posters included topics related to pharmaceutical science, pharmacology, clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice, pharmacy education and Interprofessional collaborations.
These presentations were part of the student research-based course which allow students to directly apply didactic knowledge to research activities that solve creative pharmacy and pharmaceutical-related problems.
The students undertake their research activities, in teams of 1-2 students, under the direct and close supervision of an expert faculty members.
The suspension of classes for students and precautionary measures to prevent novel coronavirus (Covid-19) required project supervisors to rethink expectations around projects timelines and revisit the designs of their projects. With intensive collaboration among students and faculty members via virtual meetings. For projects were data collection were not completed or not feasible to run virtually, the research objectives were tuned towards reporting a preliminary level of data and more comprehensive scientific literature reviews that justify more realistic and robust future plans and expectations.
Commenting on the course, the Dean of CPH, Dr. Mohammed Diab, said: “For the first time, the College of Pharmacy succeeded in conducting the undergraduate Research projects presentations online. This is a huge success and milestone for the College, the students and the researchers. Our mission is to promote research and scholarly activity and help our students reach new insights through research. This aligns with our vision of advancing healthcare in Qatar and the world through excellence and innovation in pharmacy education”.
Dr. Daoud Al-Badriyeh, the coordinator of PHAR545, said: “Moving this research course to fully online instruction because of Covid-19 pandemic required a lot of preparation and discussion”. Dr. Al-Badriyeh, however, indicated that this circumstance offers opportunities, where he elaborated: “The need for social distancing provided us with the opportunity of revisiting our own approaches of teaching, informing more efficient teaching practices and developing online methods that achieve course objectives over distance”. Dr. Al-Badriyeh added: “Students were able to successfully and very clearly present and defend their results by the end of the course. We were very happy to see that the CPH efforts have paid off and that students achieved their learning outcomes, from gaining research, writing, and presentation skills to passing assessments”.
CPH final year student Ms Shorouk Homs, said: “At first, we were anxious about this pandemic that overran us and thought it would be an obstacle to our graduation. But with all the help we got from our doctors and their faith in us we were able to successfully conduct our researches and proudly presented our senior projects online. This whole experience has added a lot to our research skills and surly to our confidence. Despite all the difficulties, we are finally ready to graduate”.
CPH final year student Ms Meram Ibrahim said: “Completing our capstone project under a global pandemic was for sure a great challenge. However, as CPH students and future pharmacists, we are prepared to accept challenges, and we make sure to rise out of them as winners. Our support system played a huge part in our achievements. Our professors were compassionate and understanding, and their wholehearted support was reflected in our project’s outcomes, as we presented our projects virtually successfully. The idea is that we should be able to look back on the challenges we have faced and seen them as motivations to further success. Each mistake is a listen to be learned, and each achievement is a catalyst to more to come”.
A student does the presentation
