Manipal College of Nursing (MCON) – Student Research Forum (SRF) organized series of webinars on the theme “Inculcating research culture in students” from 12 December 2020 to 15 January 2021. The planning of the webinar series was done after an initial need assessment. After the need assessment, Ms Edlin, PhD Scholar, Department of Child Health Nursing, MCON, MCON-SRF president, Ms Clarita, PhD Scholar, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing Secretary – MCON-SRF, and the MCON-SRF team under the guidance of Dr Sonia R.B D’Souza, Professor and HoD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Nursing, MCON, the MCON-SRF faculty advisor, planned the program. 

The objectives of the webinar series were to inculcate the culture of conducting research and literature searching for the research topics for the benefit of the students. The specific objectives were to understand the process of Institutional Ethical Committee (IEC) proceedings for research studies, to know the steps of Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI) registration, and also to identify the steps of literature search in databases like PubMed and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). The topics included for the webinar series were selected from the research areas, which will enable the students to develop an interest in conducting research and help them to update their knowledge in the current aspects of research in the field of nursing and health sciences.

Session 1 (December 12, 2020)

The first session of the webinar series was held on 12 December 2020. Ms Clarita, a PhD Scholar was the moderator for the session. Dr Rajeshkrishna Bhandary P, Faculty, KMC, Manipal was the resource person. He deliberated on the process for applying for IEC clearance for the clinical research projects. He also deliberated on the ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ when submitting research projects to the IEC. Appropriate time was allotted to the participants for the question-and-answer session. Various questions pertaining to the ‘Informed Consent’ and research project submission were clarified by the participants. A total of 42 students attended the session, which included faculty members, PhD Scholars, undergraduates, postgraduates and the MPhil Nursing students.

Session 2 (December 18, 2020)

The second session of the webinar series was held on 18 December 2020. Dr Suja Karkada, Principal, CSI Lombard Memorial College of Nursing, Udupi was the resource person. She reflected on the topic “Inculcating Research Culture in Students”. Ms Edlin, PhD Scholar, MCON was the moderator for the session. Appropriate time was given for the question-and-answer session. Various questions pertaining to the research studies were asked by the participants to the resource person. The resource person clarified all the doubts of the participants.  A total of 30 students attended the session, which included faculty members, PhD Scholars, undergraduates, postgraduates and the MPhil Nursing students.

Session 3 (January 02, 2021)

The third session of the webinar series was held on 2 January 2021. Mr Anil Raj A, Lecturer, Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, MCON, Manipal was the resource person. He deliberated on the topic “CTRI Registration”. Ms Suveksha Giri, I year MSc Nursing student was the moderator for the session. Various questions pertaining to the CTRI application and approval were asked by the participants to the resource person during the question-and-answer session. The resource person clarified all the doubts of the participants. A total of 32 students attended the session, which included faculty members, PhD Scholars, undergraduates, postgraduates and the MPhil Nursing students.

Session 4 (January 09, 2021)

The fourth session of the webinar series was held on 9 January 2021. Ms Pushpa, II year MSc Nursing student was the moderator for the session. Ms Anupama D S, PhD Scholar, Department of OBG Nursing, MCON was the resource person. She deliberated on the topic “Literature search for the database - PubMed”. It was a session with hands-on experience that was held online for the PubMed database through the MS Teams platform. Appropriate time was given for the question-and-answer session. A total of 26 students attended the session, which included faculty members, PhD Scholars, undergraduates, postgraduates and the MPhil Nursing students.

Session 5 (January 15, 2021)

The fifth session of the webinar series was held on 15 January 2021. Ms Pushpa, II year MSc Nursing student was the moderator for the session. Ms Monalisa Saikia, PhD Scholar, Department of Fundamentals of Nursing, MCON deliberated on the topic “Literature Search for the database CINAHL”. It was a session with hands-on experience online searching in the database CINAHL through the MS Teams platform and the resource person clarified all the doubts. A total of 20 students attended the session, which included faculty members, PhD Scholars, undergraduates, postgraduates and the M. Phil Nursing students.

Feedback of Delegates:

All the sessions of the webinar series were beneficial to the participants and the participants denoted that they were happy with the webinar series and appreciated the organisers of the MCON-SRF team for taking initiative to conduct the webinar series.

Vote of Thanks:

Vote of thanks was proposed by Ms Pushpa Prakash, 2^nd year MSc Nursing student on the last day i.e., fifth day of the webinar series. She thanked all the resource persons, participants, and acknowledged the contribution of all involved in putting the webinar series together.

Conclusion:

The Webinar series were organised and conducted by the MCON-SRF as per the need assessment, the planned program guidelines and advice provided. The participants provided excellent feedback for planning and conducting a useful webinar series and the organisers were pleased with the outcome.