Supervisors' perspective on medical thesis projects and dropout rates: survey among thesis supervisors at a large German university hospital

Qualitative comparative analysis of learning engagement among Chinese part-time master's students in nursing

BACKGROUND

Graduate nursing education plays an important role in the development of an innovative nation. Such education benefits the health of the community by cultivating competent and highly skilled nurses who can provide safe and quality nursing care. The number of students pursuing nursing degrees in China is insufficient, to meet the social demand for advanced practice nurses. The part-time Master of Nursing Specialist program for students offers flexible learning options for working nurses. However, the relatively low level of learning engagement exhibited by this group has raised concerns among policy-makers and nursing educators. An in-depth study of the factors affecting the learning engagement of part-time Master of Nursing Specialist postgraduates, especially with regard to their combined effect, is expected to provide a basis for improving the level of learning engagement among such students.

METHODS

This study used ability-motivation-opportunity-theory and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyze the relationships between five conditions (i.e., supportive campus environment, supportive work environment, student-faculty interaction, research motivation and time management ability) and learning engagement by reference to data collected from a sample of 225 part-time Master of Nursing Specialist students who were enrolled in China.

RESULTS

The fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis results indicated that individual examples of these antecedent conditions were insufficient to influence learning engagement. In contrast, three combinations of the five conditions led to high levels of learning engagement, and substitutability and complementarity were observed among the various elements in the configuration.

CONCLUSIONS

Research motivation, student-faculty interaction, a supportive work environment and time management are factors that can influence part-time postgraduates' learning engagement. Supervisors can enhance their research skills and expertise, hospitals can establish supportive environments for students, and students can strengthen their research motivation and time management abilities.

Twelve tips for UK medical students undertaking laboratory-based intercalated research projects

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Laboratory-based intercalated research projects are a popular undertaking for medical students in the UK. Such projects can provide students with a wealth of valuable experiences and the chance to develop new skills that will be highly beneficial to their future careers. Laboratory-based intercalated research projects however represent a very different challenge to other aspects of medical education, with distinct expectations and requirements of students in order for success to be achieved. In this article, the author compiled twelve tips based on current literature and their experiences carrying out a laboratory-based intercalated research project as a UK medical student. These tips will help ensure UK medical students are well prepared before commencing their intercalated research project, in order to maximise the benefits of the opportunities presented to them. Although focused on a UK perspective, many of the tips will similarly be applicable to medical students in other countries conducting laboratory-based projects, albeit in slightly different contexts.

Curriculum initiatives to enhance research skills acquisition by medical students: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Although it is accepted that providing medical students with opportunities to engage in research activity is beneficial, little data has been collated on how medical degree curricula may address this issue. This review aims to address this knowledge gap by conducting a scoping review examining curriculum initiatives that seek to enhance research experience for medical students.

METHODS

This review looks to specifically look at 'doing research' as defined by the MEDINE 2 consensus rather than 'using research' for the bachelor component of the Bologna Cycle. The framework developed by Arksey & O'Malley was utilised and a consultation with stakeholders was incorporated to clarify and enhance the framework.

RESULTS

A total of 120 articles were included in this scoping review; 26 related to intercalated degree options and 94 to non-intercalated degree options. Research initiatives from the United States were most common (53/120 articles). For non-intercalated research options, mandatory and elective research projects predominated. The included studies were heterogeneous in their methodology. The main outcomes reported were student research output, description of curriculum initiative(s) and self-reported research skills acquisition. For intercalated degree options, the three main findings were descriptions of more 'novel' intercalated degree options than the traditional BSc, student perspectives on intercalating and the effect of intercalating on medical student performance and careers.

CONCLUSIONS

There are several options available to faculty involved in planning medical degree programmes but further research is needed to determine whether research activity should be optional or mandatory. For now, flexibility is probably appropriate depending on a medical school's resources, curriculum, educational culture and population needs.

Challenges in postgraduate research supervision in nursing education: Integrative review

AIM

The aim of this study was to investigate challenges associated with postgraduate research supervision in nursing education and possible implications for improvement efforts.

BACKGROUND

Postgraduate research-based programs in nursing education are particularly new compared to other professions. Anecdotal notes from nursing education stakeholders indicate that postgraduate research supervision encounters numerous challenges, with negative consequences for the nursing profession and for society.

METHOD

Integrative review that combines empirical and theoretical evidence was used to obtain a comprehensive picture of challenges in the supervision of postgraduate research.

DATA SOURCES

EBSCOhost; Science Direct; Google Scholar.

REVIEW METHODS

The quality of included studies was appraised using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool for quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method studies. Two reviewers extracted data and did quality appraisal.

ANALYSIS

Inductive content analysis was used to analyse extracted data from included studies.

RESULTS

Seven studies were included. Three main categories of challenges associated with (a) institutional context, (b) research supervisors, and (c) postgraduate students.

DISCUSSION

Institutional context challenges were lack of clear guidelines for nursing schools, limited pool of appropriate research supervisors, and recruitment of many postgraduate students leading to mismatch, confusion and limited support. Research supervisors are insufficiently prepared, predominantly use traditional face-to-face method, and provide inconsistent feedback. Postgraduate students are inadequately prepared and are mostly full-time employed.

CONCLUSION

Many challenges continue to beset postgraduate research supervision in nursing discipline, with negative consequences for the quality of graduates and the quality of their research output.

THE IMPLICATION FOR NURSING POLICY

To generate useful knowledge and increase the number of motivated nursing scholars, challenges associated with postgraduate research supervision need to be addressed, with emphasis on formal training for research supervisors and development of clear guidelines for postgraduate research supervision and for recruitment of postgraduate students.

Medical Students' Acquaintance with Core Concepts, Institutions and Guidelines on Good Scientific Practice: A Pre- and Post-questionnaire Survey

German medical students are not sufficiently introduced to the ethical principles and pitfalls of scientific work. Therefore, a compulsory course on good scientific practice (GSP) has been developed and implemented into the curriculum of medical students, with the goal to foster scientific integrity and prevent scientific misconduct. Students' knowledge and attitudes towards GSP were evaluated by a pre-post-teaching questionnaire survey (n = 239). Most participants initially had startling knowledge gaps in the field. Moreover, they were not acquainted with core institutions on GSP, the office of ombudsperson and the nationally binding guidelines on GSP. The pre-post-teaching comparison showed statistically significant improvement in all areas tested; moreover, after the course participants confided more trust in GSP institutions. Applying ethical rules into practice can be challenging; therefore, students need to learn to work independently with guidelines on GSP and should be introduced to institutions providing further guidance. As our study has shown, students are very willing to pursue a scientific career based on integrity and honesty, however, they lack the knowledge how to do so. In light of our results, we therefore recommend to integrate courses on GSP already at an early time into the mandatory curriculum of medical students.

Pediatric Surgical Research Output in Germany in the Last 30 Years - An Assessment and International Comparison of Three Dedicated Paediatric Surgical Journals

Purpose: Research output of once-leading countries in surgical journals is decreasing despite an overall increase of scientific publications by 8% per year. We aimed to assess research outputs of German, Dutch, and Israeli pediatric surgeons in dedicated pediatric surgical journals in order to get insight into trends in pediatric surgical research. Methods: We collected bibliographic information on all original articles in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, European Journal of Pediatric Surgery, and Pediatric Surgery International in 1985-1988, 2000-2003, and 2015-2018 that had a German, Dutch or Israeli last author from a department of pediatric surgery. Citation counts were obtained from the Web of Science. Results: Research output of German pediatric surgery decreased from 19 manuscripts in 1988 (0.1/surgeon/year) to eight manuscripts in 2017 (0.02/surgeon/year), whereas those of the Netherlands increased from two manuscripts in 1985 (0.08/surgeon/year) to 12 manuscripts in 2016 (0.3/surgeon/year). The declining German research output negatively correlated with increasing numbers of specialist pediatric surgeons for total (τ = -0.54; P = 0.0156) and manuscripts per surgeon (τ = -0.79; P = 0.0001), resulting in a negative trend over time (χ² = 11.845, P = 0.0006). Analyses of citation patterns revealed that manuscripts by Dutch pediatric surgeons and those published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery had higher absolute citation counts than the reference category of a German manuscript in the European Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Age-corrected citation rates resembled this result by increasing from 2000 to 2003 ( x ˜ = 0.799, range: 0-3.368) to 2015-2018 ( x ˜ = 2, range: 0-5) (P = 0.035) for the Netherlands. Assessment of manuscript types revealed that the proportion of prospective studies increased in the German sample (χ² = 5.05, P = 0.0246), but remained the lowest among the comparators. Surprisingly, the proportion of non-clinical manuscripts from Germany also increased over time (χ² = 4.001, P = 0.0455), whereas it remained constant in both the Netherlands and Israel. Conclusion: German pediatric surgical research output decreased in the last thirty years based on the sample of dedicated pediatric surgical journals, while Dutch productivity increased. Citation rates-as a measure of scientific impact-were associated and increased with Dutch manuscripts. The involved factors remain to be determined and whether this represents a shift toward other journals or mirrors a general development.

What factors affect the quality of medical students' doctoral theses? A comparative study in affiliated hospitals of a Chinese university

Background: The quality of doctoral theses decides whether medical PhD and MD candidates could get their doctoral degree successfully. Good quality theses could be rewarded by Peking University which is a great honor for both doctoral candidates and for mentors. The present study aims to determine factors affecting the quality of medical doctoral theses. Methods: Honored theses and nonhonored theses were matched 1:3 randomly by specialty and submission year. Conditional logistic regressions were utilized. Results: Five domains comprising 17 indicators were put forward to evaluate the quality of doctoral theses. 41 honored theses and 119 matched nonhonored theses from years 2012-2016 were analyzed by univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression. Degree type (OR: 107.56, 95%CI: 1.20-9632.70, P=0.041), first author impact factor (OR:1.24, 95%CI: 1.01-1.53, P=0.040) and correctly reported statistic results (OR: 43.18, 95%CI: 1.88-991.61, P=0.019) are independent factors influencing the quality of a doctoral thesis. Conclusions: The present study indicates that there is a significant gap between PhD and MD students on quality of thesis. The rewarded theses have a feature of high first author impact factor. However, most medical students need more training on statistics to improve the quality of their doctoral theses.

The importance of scientific competencies in German medical curricula - the student perspective

BACKGROUND

Scientific competencies are of great importance for physicians; not only for conducting reliable research, but also for patient care. However, there is growing concern that a lack of scientific competencies among physicians may lead to a deterioration in the quality on biomedical research. This study aims at assessing medical students' perspectives on the implementation of scientific competency training in German medical curricula.

METHODS

An online survey was conducted in order to collect German medical students' opinions on the importance of acquiring scientific competencies during their medical studies and to provide us with an assessment of their current levels of basic scientific competencies by having them conduct a self-evaluation. Moreover, we wanted to understand their perceptions of current curricular content and to receive suggestions for improving scientific competency training. Participants were reached via the mailing lists of the German Medical Students' Association, as well as of local medical student committees, and the German Medical Students' Associations social media channel on Facebook.

RESULTS

In total, 2380 medical students from across all 37 German medical faculties participated in the survey. The majority of students agreed that the ability to critically evaluate the relevant literature is an important competency for physicians, and that every student should conduct a research project during their medical studies. However, the students evaluated their scientific competencies as unsatisfactory, especially with regard to statistics and scientific writing. They were strongly in favor of receiving extended research training.

CONCLUSION

Our study provides insight into German medical students' self-perception in relation to both patient care and biomedical research, and makes recommendations for potential improvements in scientific training. The study demonstrates that scientific competencies are of great importance to medical students in Germany. Students are not lacking motivation for scientific practice and have numerous ideas for enhancing scientific teaching opportunities. Scientific training should follow a holistic approach based on three pillars: (i) a scientific core curriculum, (ii) intracurricular research projects, and (iii) special research programs for students strongly interested in medical research.