ERIC Number: EJ1227738
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Apr
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2473-3806
EISSN: N/A
Why Do Science Students Study Physiology? Career Priorities of 21st Century Physiology Undergraduates
Choate, Julia; Long, Harrison
HAPS Educator, v23 n1 p53-63 Apr 2019
There have been significant increases in the number of students studying physiology in the Bachelor of Science degree-program at our university. We thought that physiology prerequisites for graduate programs in medicine and allied-health areas were facilitating these increased numbers. Undergraduate physiology students were surveyed about their career priorities: 25% were undecided/uncertain; 22% intended to study graduate medicine; 15% wanted to get a job straight after their degree; 10% planned to study in an allied-health area. Their careers uncertainty remained high, even in their final semester, suggesting a critical need for in-curriculum careers education. With 32% of students selecting graduate programs in medicine or allied-health, this supports the idea that elevated student enrollments are driven by their future study plans. With only 5% of students putting research as their career priority, this raises concerns about how we educate our physiology students. Should we be educating them to be researchers and also developing their skills in preparation for graduate health-related programs?
Descriptors: Physiology, Undergraduate Students, 21st Century Skills, College Science, Science Instruction, Career Development, Neurosciences, Foreign Countries, Science Careers
Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. PO Box 2945, LeGrange, GA 30421. e-mail: editor@hapsconnect.org; Web site: https://www.hapsweb.org/page/hapsed_home
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research-practitioner Partnerships
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A