Barriers to research opportunities among osteopathic medical students

Abstract

Context Despite the increase of importance placed on research, both by residency program directors and the medical field at large, osteopathic medical students (OMS) have significantly fewer research experiences than United States (U.S.) allopathic medical students and non-U.S. international medical graduates. However, few studies have addressed this long-standing discrepancy, and none directly have focused on osteopathic medical students to assess their unique needs. The literature would benefit from identifying the barriers osteopathic medical students encounter when participating in research and understanding the currently available resources. Objectives To assess the barriers that OMS face when seeking research opportunities, identify resources currently available to osteopathic medical students at their respective schools, and investigate factors that contribute to an osteopathic medical student’s desire to pursue research opportunities. Additionally, to investigate osteopathic medical students’ confidence in research methodology. Methods A survey was created by the investigators and administered to participants over a three-month period via a GoogleForm. Research participants were surveyed for demographic information, as well as their involvement in research projects in the past, mentor availability, institutional resources, motivation to participate in research, individual barriers to participation, and confidence in their ability to do independent research. Responses were de-identified and analyzed using Microsoft Excel functions to count data and calculate percentages, as well as Pearson’s chi square analysis. Results After relevant exclusion, 668 responses were included. Of the students surveyed, 85.9% (574) indicated they currently and/or in the past were involved in research. More than half of the respondents that are not currently involved in research are interested in pursuing it (86.9%; 344). The primary barriers students reported facing include lack of time (57.8%; 386), feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to start (53.4%; 357), and lack of access to research (53%; 354). 34.7% (232) of students stated they either did not have resources from their school or were unsure whether these resources were available. The two most cited motivations to pursue research included boosting their residency application and/or interest in the area of study. Male gender and current research were associated with reported confidence in research ( [4, n=662]=10.6, p<0.05). Conclusions Findings from this study provide a synopsis of the barriers to research opportunities among osteopathic medical students. Notably, ⅓ of OMSs reported an absence or unawareness of available research resources at their osteopathic medical schools.

Medical students’ interest in research: changing trends during university training

“…Concerning the main barriers for research, most students thought that the most important ones were the lack funding and opportunities. This is consistent with other studies that have reported limited resources and lack of funding as blockades to research involvement ( 2 , 17 , 18 ). Lack of awareness of opportunities was also consistent with a previous study ( 17 , 19 ).…”

Perspectives of Osteopathic Medical Students on Preclinical Urology Exposure: A Single Institution Cross Sectional Survey

“…8 While urology is heavily research driven field, a study found that osteopathic medical student face barriers to attaining research experiences that can make them less competitive and also affect the specialty that they ultimately want to end up in. 13 The present results indicate that of those considering urology, inclusion of preclinical urology elective, core urology course, extracurricular urology related workshops, and a urology mentorship program is of high interest. These results may provide a basis for designing the preclinical medical education curriculum, aiming to enhance urology exposure among osteopathic medical students.…”

Student Perspectives on the Undergraduate Medical Student Research Experience at a Single United States Allopathic Institution

“…al. identified facilitators and motivational factors that promote successful research endeavors within an osteopathic medical school with a limited research infrastructure [16]. One recent study surveyed students from a single community-based medical school regarding their perceptions toward research in light of the Step 1 scoring change, but this study did not seek to identify factors that facilitate and/or hinder their ability to complete research [11].…”