Undergraduate research in medical education: a descriptive study of students’ views

Abstract

BackgroundMedical students engage in curricular and extracurricular activities, including undergraduate research (UR). The advantages, difficulties and motivations for medical students pursuing research activities during their studies have rarely been addressed. In Brazil, some medical schools have included undergraduate research into their curriculum. The present study aimed to understand the reality of scientific practice among medical students at a well-established Brazilian medical school, analyzing this context from the students’ viewpoint.MethodsA cross-sectional survey based on a questionnaire applied to students from years one to six enrolled in an established Brazilian medical school that currently has no curricular UR program.ResultsThe questionnaire was answered by 415 students, 47.2% of whom were involved in research activities, with greater participation in UR in the second half of the course. Independent of student involvement in research activities, time constraints were cited as the main obstacle to participation. Among students not involved in UR, 91.1% said they favored its inclusion in the curriculum, since this would facilitate the development of such activity. This approach could signify an approximation between the axes of teaching and research. Among students who had completed at least one UR project, 87.7% said they would recommend the activity to students entering the course.ConclusionEven without an undergraduate research program, students of this medical school report strong involvement in research activities, but discussion of the difficulties inherent in its practice is important to future developments.

Contemporary global perspectives of medical students on research during undergraduate medical education: a systematic literature review

“…Many medical students lacked the skills to pursue research during undergraduate medical education [47,49]. This lack of skills may arise from inadequate early exposure to the basic concepts of scientific inquiry that serves to limit their later research involvement [49–51].…”

“…This lack of skills may arise from inadequate early exposure to the basic concepts of scientific inquiry that serves to limit their later research involvement [49–51]. While in some countries students had research exposure before medical school, they still did not feel prepared enough to engage in research [35,47,50].…”

Perfil científico de estudantes de Medicina em uma universidade pública

“…Em estudo entre graduandos de medicina de Botucatu, São Paulo, constatou-se que maioria dos projetos científicos completos (67,9%) foram apresentados em congressos, sendo que 42,3% tinham potencial para publicação em periódicos indexados [23].…”

Perception of Spanish medical students with regard to working abroad. The role of the university and scientific conferences

“…Este estudio reforzaría nuestros resultados acerca de la opinión de los estudiantes de cursos avanzados sobre la falta de información que les proporciona la universidad para iniciarse en la investigación. Para Oliveira et al (15), las principales razones por las que los estudiantes de medicina no se inician en la investigación son el desconocimiento de la labor investigadora, la falta de motivación del profesorado y los escasos incentivos. Así, de acuerdo con la encuesta de 2015 realizada por la revista Nature a estudiantes posgraduados de todo el mundo, solo un 18% consideran que sus instituciones académicas disponen de servicios útiles para orientar su futura carrera profesional (16).…”