Research training program in a Turkish medical school: challenges, barriers and opportunities from the perspectives of the students and faculty members

Integrating Research and Teaching in Medical Education: Challenges, Strategies, and Implications for Healthcare

Introduction

The integration of research and teaching in medical education offers numerous benefits, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills in students. Institutions worldwide have recognized the significance of this nexus and have implemented initiatives to link teaching with discipline-based research, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. This article aims to explore the challenges and recommendations for integrating research and teaching in medical schools and provide recommendations to overcome these challenges.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature to identify the common challenges faced by medical institutions in integrating research and teaching. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar databases were searched to assess the literature that met the study objectives with explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. We also examined successful strategies employed by some institutions to promote research-teaching integration.

Results

The challenges identified include limited resources, the need to balance research and curriculum requirements, and the importance of cultivating a research-oriented institutional culture. Successful strategies involve curriculum updates, faculty motivation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Implementing strategies involve vertically and horizontally integrating research methodology throughout the undergraduate curriculum and cross-integrating traditional medical courses with other disciplines. Collaboration between universities, enterprises, and schools can enhance comprehensive cooperation.

Conclusion

To create a research-oriented learning environment, medical institutions should address these challenges and implement effective strategies. This approach will not only nurture research-oriented healthcare professionals but also advance medical knowledge for the benefit of patient care. By addressing these challenges and implementing appropriate strategies, medical institutions can create a research-oriented learning environment, nurturing research-oriented healthcare professionals and advancing medical knowledge to improve patient care.

Relationship matters: a qualitative study of medical students' experiences in a learner-driven research program in South Korea

BACKGROUND

Although research experience is important for medical students, it is difficult to develop research skills only through a formal curriculum. To develop research programs that address the authentic needs of students and align with the entirety of the medical school curriculum, a learner-centered approach may be more effective than an instructor-centered approach. This study investigates medical student perspectives on factors that help them develop research competency.

METHODS

Hanyang University College of Medicine in South Korea operates the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) as a supplement to its formal curriculum. Semi-structured interviews were held with 18 students (20 cases) in the program, and qualitative content analysis was performed using the software tool MAXQDA20.

RESULTS

The findings are discussed in relation to three domains: learner engagement, instructional design, and program development. The students were more engaged when they perceived the program as a new experience, had prior research experience, wanted to make a good impression, and felt a sense of contribution. In terms of instructional design, they positively participated in research when their supervisors respected them, set clear tasks, provided constructive feedback, and invited them into the research community. In particular, the students highly valued relationships with their professors, and these relationships served not only as a main motivating factor in their research participation but also affected their college lives and careers.

CONCLUSIONS

The longitudinal relationship between students and professors has newly emerged in the Korean context as a factor that strengthens student engagement in research and the complementary relationship between formal curriculum and MSTP was highlighted to encourage student engagement in research.

How Do Medical Students Perceive Their Research Experiences and Associated Challenges?

INTRODUCTION

Undergraduate medical students' research experience is essential for their career progress. Understanding the perceived challenges undergraduate medical students face in conducting research can improve the research experience in the undergraduate curriculum. This study explores the medical students' perception of medical research and assesses their practices and perceived barriers encountered in carrying out medical research.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among medical students of the college of medicine of King Saud University in Riyadh. They were invited to enroll in a web-based survey composed of four sections; demographic data, attitudes toward science and research, perceived barriers to participating in scientific research activities, and medical students' research practice and experience.

RESULTS

A total of 389 students responded to the survey. The most commonly reported barrier to participation in scientific research was lack of time due to being overburdened with educational activities (74.6%). Gender (P <0.008), age (P <0.0001), academic year (P <0.0001), grade of the research course (P <0.0001), and the rank of supervisor (P <0.0001) were identified as significant contributors to success in publication. The only barrier identified as a significant factor is the inadequate research supervisors' guidance and support (P 0.015). Clinical students are more confident in research skills than pre-clinical students.

CONCLUSION

Although participation in the research was high among medical students, most reported a lack of time and the lack of mentors as significant barriers to conduct research. This required interventions to improve the mentorship and tailor it to the student's needs throughout the curriculum.

The association between medical student research engagement with learning outcomes

Medical student research engagement has been considered as a critical component of undergraduate medical education. However, evidence on the association between medical student research engagement with learning outcomes is lacking. The objectives of our study are: (1) to outline the landscape of medical student research engagement in China; (2) to explore the association between medical student research engagement and learning outcomes, and whether this association is different among students with different characteristics. A paper questionnaire was developed, piloted, and administered to medical students at 33 medical schools in China. Research engagement was measured by the times students engaged in research projects while learning outcomes referred to learning outcomes contained in the Standards for Basic Medical Education in China. Chi-square tests were used to measure statistical significance between research engagement and the characteristics of participants. We analysed relationships between research engagement and learning outcomes using multivariate linear regression with medical school fixed effects. The overall response rate was 86.7%. 10,062 medical students completed the questionnaire, 55.5% of which had participated in one or more research projects. Research engagement differed by the length of the program, gender, and academic performance. Research engagement was also positively associated with students' overall learning outcomes, especially in the Science and Scholarship domain (once, β = 0.20, P < 0.001; twice or more, β = 0.43, P < 0.001) and the Professionalism domain (once, β = 0.12, P < 0.05; twice or more, β = 0.25, P < 0.01). The relationships between research engagement and learning outcomes differed significantly by gender. Medical student research engagement is significantly positively associated with medical students' learning outcomes, especially in the Science and Scholarship domain and the Professionalism domain. Besides, men benefit more from engaging in research projects, particularly in the Science and scholarship domain.

Mentoring Medical Education Research: Guidelines from a Narrative Review

Mentorship is critical to develop research scholars. Current literature provides mentorship guidance for biomedical research; however, mentorship for educational research is scarce. We explored literature to offer evidence-based guidance for medical education research mentors. A librarian searched peer-reviewed literature from 2001 to 2021 to identify guidelines for research mentors. Thirty-five articles were included in this narrative review. Our results identified attributes of mentors, overlapping roles, and barriers and benefits of mentoring. The structures and processes related to mentoring are reviewed and applicability to medical education research mentorship is summarized.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01565-2.

Predictors of Medical Students’ Views toward Research: Insights from a Cross-Cultural Study among Portuguese-Speaking Countries

Developing the skills and interest in scientific research of medical students is crucial to ensuring effective healthcare systems. As such, in this study, we aimed to assess Portuguese-speaking medical students’ attitudes and perceptions toward scientific research and clinical practice, and how they are influenced by individual characteristics and regional indicators. A total of 455 first-year students from three medical schools in three countries (Portugal, Brazil, and Angola) participated in this study by completing a questionnaire. Portuguese students attributed the most importance to scientific skills and were the most confident in their ability to perform these skills. Angolan students were the most motivated to perform research and integrate it into the curriculum, despite having the most negative attitudes and perceiving themselves as having less ability to perform scientific skills. Brazilian students had the least positive attitudes toward science. In Portugal, attitudes depended on gross domestic product (GDP), while in Angola, they were influenced by the type of secondary school attendance. Portuguese students’ perceptions of scientific skills were related to sex, GDP, type of secondary school, and participation in research. In Brazilian and Angolan students, perceptions were associated with age and research participation, respectively. The findings support the need to promote skills and positive attitudes toward scientific research in future physicians, fostering physician-scientists and improving patient care.

Undergraduate research in medicine: A summary of the evidence on problems, solutions and outcomes

Scientific research plays a fundamental role in current medical practice and it is of great importance that medical students relate to it from the beginning of their professional career, since it generates multiple benefits that will be reflected during the course of their careers as university students and future professionals. However, getting involved in research during the undergraduate years is not always easy, as there are different obstacles and challenges that result in a reduced number of research students. Because of this, it is necessary to adopt appropriate strategies and measures to help facilitate this process, in order to foster the early development of essential skills that will facilitate responsible clinical practice. Knowing the evidence on this issue is fundamental to propose educational solutions depending on each context.

•

Undergraduate research is the best way to promote the curriculum.

•

Undergraduate research increases the likelihood of publishing articles of higher quality.

•

Undergraduate research increases the likelihood of publishing more articles.

Practical guide for the use of medical evidence in scientific publication: Recommendations for the medical student: Narrative review

Currently, the adaptation of scientific evidence in clinical problem solving is based on the evidence-based medicine method. Medical students and health professionals should have an adequate knowledge of this method and thus provide adequate health care and increasingly provide high quality scientific publications that can be subsequently integrated in different clinical scenarios. Several scales and tools have been proposed as guides to recognize the different levels of quality of the available evidence, their degrees of recommendation and the biases and fallacies that may occur both in the clinical and research areas, with the aim of identifying the best available evidence. However, few students and professionals are aware of them and make proper use of them. Therefore, it is necessary to synthesize these tools in an understandable and practical way.

Otolaryngology Residents' Attitudes, Experiences, and Barriers Regarding the Medical Research

Objective:

It was aimed to investigate the attitudes, experiences, and barriers towards scientific research among otolaryngology residents in Turkey.

Methods:

Anonymous data were collected via an online survey. The demographic characteristics and experience in scientific research were investigated in the first section of the survey. The attitudes of participants towards scientific research and the barriers to the scientific research were examined in the second section of the survey using 17 items.

Results:

The present study involved 119 otolaryngology residents continuing their education. It was determined that 68.1% of participants think that “participating in scientific research” is a part of otolaryngology training. In the present study, it was shown that the residents having journal club hours in clinics on regular basis participated in various steps of scientific research projects (p<0.05). Residents stated that they participated in the “literature review” stage of the preparation of a scientific publication (mean value of 2.58±1.88) most and in “verbal presentation in a congress” least (mean value of 0.74±1.44). It was determined that 80.7% of participants have not attended in any training on scientific research. It was found that the residents receiving structured scientific research training participated more in steps of scientific research projects which was statistically significantly (p<0.05).

Conclusion:

In our country, otolaryngology residents are very enthusiastic about having research education and participating in researches. However, residency students frequently have time deficiency, lack of knowledge-skill, and lack of financial support. Dedicated time should be allocated for research training and practice in specialty programs. Journal club activities should be organized on regular basis and integrated with research education. On the other hand, the scholarly activities of residents should be supported by means of various countrywide educational activities on research training.

Portuguese Medical Students' Interest for Science and Research Declines after Freshman Year

The integration of scientific research into medical curricula remains insufficient despite its advantages for medical students' professional development and the advancement of medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of first-year medical course attendance on medical students' attitudes and perceptions towards scientific research and clinical practice, while also assessing the contribution of sociodemographic and academic factors. Two hundred and thirteen medical students self-administrated a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the first school year. Their responses were compared and two regression models were calculated to assess factors influencing students' attitudes and perceptions. After freshman year, students displayed significantly lower positive attitudes towards science and research. Their motivation to perform research and to integrate it into the curriculum also decreased, while the importance attributed to research skills for clinical practice increased. Motivation to perform research and negative attitudes were positively and negatively associated with grade point average (GPA), respectively. Female students and those who attended public secondary schools attributed greater importance to communication skills. This study reinforces the need to early develop research skills and positive attitudes in medical students, motivating them to become physician-scientists. Additional follow-up studies may offer further contributions to the integration of research into medical curricula.