Professional Skills Development for Undergraduate Students in a Physiology Lab Course
Authors: Ogrodzinski Yvonne , Steele Keeler , VanRyn Valerie , Wehrwein Erica 
Published: April 2020

Employers and professional schools published position statements regarding the need for undergraduate training in professional skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication. Developing these non‐technical skills for their interviews, professional school, and career success is essential. At Michigan State University (MSU), the Physiology Department undergraduate lab course has incorporated both formal and informal professional development opportunities, supplementary to the standard science curriculum, in an effort to improve student’s self efficacy. We have dedicated time in the first class period of each semester to address these issues and direct students to reflect on their own experiences. Additionally, we have an activity each week to improve intrapersonal and interpersonal capabilities, for example questionnaires to learn about one’s style for teamwork, leadership or communication and assessments for career values, grit or conflict management. Effective communication skills are developed throughout the semester with capstone research presentations and weekly “Physiology in the News” reports. The Physiology in the News assignment was developed as a chance for students to find a recently published physiological development and translate the findings in a short oral report to the classroom. The students are instructed to communicate in layman’s terms. As a part of their course capstone research projects, students are challenged to engage their critical thinking and problem solving skills to design and carry out their own study including writing a grant through presenting a scientific poster of their results. Additionally, they must learn to work in a team and apply effective time management to complete a research project in six weeks. The last project of the semester is to have their resume reviewed by career services and to have a professional headshot taken in the department studio. Anonymous pre‐ and post‐course professional skills surveys are administered in the first and last weeks of the semester to give students the opportunity to reflect upon their competencies. Students’ self assessment of their professional skills improved on the post‐test over several semesters of cohorts. Percentage of students ranking their overall professional skills as Good or Excellent on the pre and post test are: Fall 2017; 62% pre, 79% post; Spring 2018; 64% pre, 87% post; Fall 2018; 58% pre, 80% post). The lowest ranked skills (i.e., the one that students rated themselves average or poor) were: navigating across boundaries, work/life balance, embracing change, time management, and developing professional competencies. Additionally, on course evaluations students are given a chance to voice their opinion of professional development activities included in class as part of their grade. Of all sections across three semesters surveyed (n=107), there were no negative responses with all students either saying yes it was helpful or maybe (indicating that they already felt fully competent before the course). This shows that not only do students feel that their professional skills improve during the course, but they agree that working on these skills is a vital component of classroom activities.