Medical student involvement in health policy roles

Abstract

ObjectivesA teaching curriculum in health policy may be well established in medical school; however, an emphasis on applying taught principles via participation in health policy roles is less defined. We undertook a study to explore medical student participation in health policy roles.Design and settingAn anonymous online survey via convenience sampling was conducted in the UK.ParticipantsA total of 112 students from six medical schools participated in the study.Outcome measuresThe outcome measures were as follows: medical students’ beliefs about their current knowledge of health policy and their desire to learn more; their current, past and future involvement in a health policy role, and perceived barriers to involvement.ResultsForty-seven percent of participants reported previous teaching on health policy, with the majority scoring themselves 2 out of 5 for knowledge about the topic (38%). Seventy-seven percent of participants expressed a desire to be taught health policy while 73% agreed with compulsory teaching. Ninety-six percent of participants reported no current or previous activity in a health policy role, with 61% willing to undertake a role in the future. The three main barriers to student involvement were: a lack of knowledge about health policy (57%), an unawareness of opportunities available (56%), and a lack of time (43%).ConclusionIn addition to already established teaching programs within medical school, implementation of community-based experiences could improve knowledge of health policy, while providing an opportunity for students to gain experience in health policy committee roles.

Barriers to implementing a health policy curriculum in medical schools

“…As clinical medical students, we read with great interest the perspective by Malik et al 1 Although medical schools excel at educating students on the pathology and treatment of diseases, we agree on the severe deficiency in teaching health policy (HP) in the medical curriculum. However, the authors fail to include challenges facing this implementation, which is an important aspect of the analysis.…”

The need for health systems education during medical training in the UK

“…One recent survey of students at six UK medical schools found that while there was a strong desire to learn about health policy, self-rated knowledge of the topic was low 12. This lack of knowledge was listed as the most common reason for students not pursuing work in health policy, despite over half of respondents saying that they would consider undertaking such work in their careers 12. Three barriers to the teaching of this material have been identified in the USA: curricular pressures, lack of faculty and limited knowledge of best practices 13…”

Broadening health policy education in medical school

“…We read with great interest the article by Malik et al 1 exploring medical student participation in health policy roles. As medical students who recently completed an intercalated degree in healthcare management at Imperial College London, we spent a large proportion of our time learning about health policy.…”

“…It was found that 43% identified lack of time as a barrier to their involvement in health policy. 1 Bicket et al similarly found that time commitments and opportunity costs were the main drawbacks for students not pursuing their interests in leadership roles in medical school. 2 …”

“… 4 Of particular note is that, although 79% of students would be interested in health policy teaching, only 47% reported previous such teaching during medical school. 1 In addition, Malik et al also found the most prominent barrier was a lack of knowledge about health policy. 1 We believe, this warrants the amendment of health policy curricula to address the knowledge gap which appears to hinder student involvement in health policy roles.…”