Medical research: what to expect in a student-supervisor relationship

Sources of stress and coping strategies among Chinese medical graduate students: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The incidence of mental health problems among medical graduate students is much higher than among students of other disciplines. This can have adverse consequences for the medical students themselves as well as their future patients. This study aims to understand the pressures faced by Chinese medical students and the current status of mental health education. It also propose recommendations for the current situation and prospects for the future.

METHOD

The authors conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 22 master's students from five medical schools during November 2023. All interview sessions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions were analyzed using the Colaizzi's seven-step method.

RESULT

Three main themes were extracted from the students' statements: sources of psychological stress, ways to cope with stress, and perspectives on mental health education. The study showed that current mental health education in China is mostly in the form of printed mental health education manuals and mental health lectures, and there is no active tiered intervention for students at different levels. It is suggested that reforms should be made to shift to a model where the school proactively identifies problems and intervenes based on feedback.

CONCLUSION

This study reveals the widespread psychological stress and shortcomings in current education methods. To address these challenges, institutions should develop tailored interventions, including tiered support systems, open dialogue promotion, and resilience training. Future research should focus on evaluating innovative interventions' effectiveness, ultimately fostering a supportive environment that enhances students' success and contributes to a healthier healthcare workforce.

Reducing the risk of suicidal behaviors in medical graduate students: exploration of student-supervisor relationship and subjective family socioeconomic status

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the association between the risk of suicidal behaviors and student-supervisor relationships and subjective family socioeconomic status (SFSS) in medical graduate students, and to propose preventive strategies to reduce the suicidal risk among medical graduate students.

Materials and methods

A total of 1,310 validated questionnaires were collected from medical graduate students, which included demographic information, study programs, the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) questionnaire, the Leader-Member Exchange 7 (LMX-7) questionnaire, and SFSS by MacArthur Scale. Multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the associations between variables and adjust for confounders. A moderation analysis, containing simple slope analysis and Johnson-Neyman interval plots were used to analyze the moderating effect of the SFSS in the association of SBQ-R and LMX-7 scores.

Results

A total of 88 participants (6.7%) were at risk of suicidal behaviors. In the high-quality student-supervisor relationship group (LMX-7 score ≥ 25), SFSS was significantly higher than in the low- and moderate-quality relationship group (p=0.002). The median SBQ-R score and proportion of suicide risk was significantly lower (p<0.001) in the high-quality student-supervisor relationship group. Multiple regression analysis indicated LMX-7 scores (β=-0.098, 95% CI [-0.118, -0.077], p<0.001) and SFSS (β=-0.073, 95% CI [-0.127, -0.019], p=0.008) were significantly negatively associated with SBQ-R, whereas the interaction term of SFSS with LMX-7 (β=0.018, 95% CI [0.007, 0.029], p=0.001) showed a significant positive association with SBQ-R. The Johnson-Neyman interval showed a significant association between LMX-7 and SBQ-R scores only when SFSS was less than 7.82 (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The risk of suicidal behaviors was associated with student-supervisor relationships and SFSS among medical graduate students. Poor relationships with supervisor were associated with an elevated risk of suicidality, and SFSS moderated this association. Educators should pay increased attention to the suicidal risk of medical graduate students with poor supervisor relationships, especially those from families with low SFSS, and provide timely preventive strategies.

From master's thesis to research publication: a mixed-methods study of medical student publishing and experiences with the publishing process

BACKGROUND

Medical student master's theses are often carried out as research projects, and some are published as research papers in journals. We investigated the percentage of master's theses conducted by 5th -year students at the Medical Degree Program at Lund University, Sweden, that subsequently served as the basis for research publications. In addition, we explored both student and supervisor experiences with the publishing process.

METHODS

A cohort of four semesters of student data covering the period from 2019 to 2020 (n = 446) was searched in PubMed, Embase and the Web of Science to assess whether they had been published as research papers. Surveys were sent to students (n = 121) and supervisors (n = 77) to explore their experiences with the publishing process.

RESULTS

We found that 33% (149 of 446) of the students in the 2019-2020 cohort subsequently published their theses, and 50% of these students were listed as first authors. Most students published original research. Students (n = 21) and supervisors (n = 44) reported that the publishing process was time-consuming and that students needed multilevel support from supervisors to achieve successful publication. The publishing process was reported by 79% of the students to have led to additional learning. Most of the papers (126 of 149, 85%) had a clinical or patient-oriented focus.

CONCLUSION

A high percentage of the student publications in which students are listed as first authors require engagement from both students and supervisors. Supervisors play an essential role in supporting students in a successful publication process. Most of the published papers were either clinical or patient-oriented research.

"Publish or Perish": barriers to research publication in an undergraduate medical research program

OBJECTIVES

Publication is one of the crucial parameters in research, and the inability to publish has been noted in many medical students' projects due to different reasons. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the obstacles that prevented medical students in a health science university from publishing their research from 2018 to 2021. First, an online survey was distributed to assess the obstacles to publication perceived by the medical students. Second, a total of 81 research projects were evaluated by scientific reviewers and their final decision about the publication was recorded.

RESULTS

In total, 162 students filled out the survey. The barriers faced by the students were various. They included an unsupportive research supervisor, a lack of time, an insufficient sample size, and many others. In the reviewer's evaluation, out of 81 projects, 70 projects (86.4%) were recommended to be published after minor or major modifications, while 11 projects (13.6%) were rejected due to poor writing style, poor results interpretation, and incorrect methodology.

CONCLUSION

Articulating the barriers to undergraduate medical research publication is important in boosting publication rates and research experience of graduating medical students. Medical research educators and research supervisors should strongly consider creating a framework that tackles existing obstacles and any future matters.