Being a Competent Doctoral Student: A Reflection

Abstract

Building a successful PhD program requires a sustained research environment. The successful completion of a PhD thesis depends on a working supervisor-student relationship built on respect, responsibility, and involvement. Supervisors who are also working researchers should get the training they need to improve their supervising abilities. They act as role models in academic life both scientifically and morally. The employment of a second supervisor in addition to the primary one is strongly advised in order to improve the effectiveness of tracking student development and resolve interpersonal problems. Regulations from the university should outline the obligations of the research supervisor. In medical education, small-group instruction and learning have achieved an admirable position and gained popularity as a way to support research students in their studies and foster deep learning. The primary qualities include active student participation throughout the whole learning cycle and a clearly defined task orientation with attainable specific goals and objectives within a set time frame. Preliminary considerations at the departmental and institutional levels, including educational strategies, group composition, physical environment, existing resources, diagnosis of the research needs, formulation of the objectives, and appropriate teaching learning outline, are crucial to the development of an ideal small group teaching and learning session. Small group instruction at medical schools boosts student motivation, collaborative abilities, knowledge and skill retention, idea transfer to novel problems, and self-directed learning. Investigating the problems enables the learner to put their higher-order thinking and skills to the test. It supports adult learning, taking ownership of one's own development, and fostering self-motivation. This research paper aims to study the scholar’s perception of effectiveness of teaching and learning process during the first and second years of doctoral study.