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Beth A Martin, PhD, MS, RPh, FAPhA

Division Chair
Professor (CHS)
Assistant Dean for Teaching & Learning

The goal of Dr. Martin's research is to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of educational methodologies to enhance pharmacist or patient learning and confidence, and the degree to which performance-based abilities (communication skills, problem-solving abilities) are transferred from the learning environment to the practice (practice change/service implementation/sustainment) or home setting (patient behavior change). 

Her research agenda has always been driven by her desire for pharmacy practice change. This research program has taken 2 parallel paths. The first is focused on changing or improving pharmacist practice behaviors. The second path, is the study of patient learning and behavior change.  It was a natural and necessary pathway to develop since the goal of pharmacy practice change is to impact patient outcomes. The topics she teaches (tobacco cessation, pharmacy services, older adult successful aging, motivational interviewing) and her clinical practice setting at Oakwood Village University Woods Retirement Community provide a gateway to the patient/provider population she studies.  The frameworks that inform the interventions Dr. Martin develops are Wiggins’ and McTighe’s Backward Design, Miller’s Learning Pyramid, Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory, Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, and Miller and Rollnicks’ Motivational Interviewing principles.  Dr. Martin has used Self-Efficacy Theory extensively in designing educational interventions and developing and validating survey instruments to measure changes in learners’ confidence.  Her research questions assess the effectiveness of new strategies (i.e. interventions) to educate the learner and, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods, to evaluate learner confidence and the degree to which learning is transferred from the learning environment to the “real world” setting.  In the case of pharmacists, this entails a transfer to the practice setting to enhance patient outcome in the case of patients, a transfer to their interactions with health care professionals and daily health behaviors.  The primary goal is to develop educational interventions that can be adapted and used by others to facilitate change in clinical practice leading to meaningful and sustained improvements in patient outcomes. She has received grants from the State of Wisconsin, the Ira and Ineva Baldwin Wisconsin Idea program, and the NIH CTSA funded Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.