Graduation Research in Organic Chemistry: Transformation of Students’ Attitude toward Research through Graduation Research

Abstract

Organic chemistry in pharmaceutical education is indispensable for drug discovery and the understanding of biological phenomena and plays an important role in the identity formation of pharmacists. In the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmacy Education (2022 revision), organic chemistry is one of the most fundamental subjects in basic pharmaceutical sciences and plays an important role in the study of other fields. Based on basic pharmacy, the academic goal of pharmacological research is to develop problem-finding skills and foster the problem-solving abilities necessary for research that contributes to the development of pharmacy and medicine. The author devised ways for students to become interested in their research topics and to work on them independently. Specifically, the author adopted a teaching method that respects students’ independence in scheduling and selecting synthetic routes. For example, in research to determine the absolute configuration of metabolites of the antibiotic nabumetone, students managed their own schedules and became able to conduct research with a sense of conviction and responsibility. In addition, in research on the synthesis of thiophene derivatives, presenting multiple synthetic routes and allowing students to choose one enabled them to propose the direction of the experiment based on their own opinions. Therefore, it is necessary to devise and support research procedures tailored to individual students.