Abstract
BackgroundAlthough much has been written about structure and outcomes of medical students’ curricular research projects, less attention has been paid to the expectations on such projects. In order to foster students’ scientific understanding and improve the quality of mandatory research projects, we compared students’ pre-course expectations with their post-course insights regarding learning and transferable skills.MethodsA prospective cross-sectional questionnaire study. All students registered on a mandatory 20-week research project course in 2011–2013 were e-mailed questionnaires in the beginning and after the course asking them to rate statements on expectations and perceived learning on a 5-point Likert scale. Of 652 students, 358 (mean age 26 years; range 21–49; 63% females) returned both questionnaires, corresponding to a response rate of 55%.ResultsThe ratings for expectations as well as perceived learning were highest for learning to search and critically appraise literature. The greatest pre- and post-course differences were indicated for participation in scientific discussions and oral communication. Surprisingly, both pre- and post-course ratings were low for research ethics. The highest post-course ratings regarding skills for future working life were given to items pertaining to understanding the scientific basis of medicine, ability to follow the development of knowledge and to critically integrate knowledge. Female students had higher expectations than male students. Those with a previous university degree had lower ratings of expectations and perceived learning. Students with basic science projects reported higher expectations and higher learning compared to students with other projects. Previous research experience had no significant influence on expectations nor learning. The correlations between post-course ratings of learning and skills showed that problem-solving ability had a relatively high correlation with all skills.ConclusionsStudents had high expectations and perceived the course improved crucial practical skills. However, expectations were not quite met regarding aspects of scientific communication, and hypothesis formulation, likely because these require more extensive practice and feedback. Students should be actively involved in ethical discussions and oral communication should be trained repeatedly as it is an important task of doctors to communicate scientific information to patients and non-experts.
Highlights
Much has been written about structure and outcomes of medical students’ curricular research projects, less attention has been paid to the expectations on such projects
Medical students who embark on scholarly projects often lack the experience to carry out an entire research process and may find it difficult to understand the generic value of the course in regard to their future career and life-long learning [6]
Before taking the research project course in semester 7, the participants in the present study received lectures and seminars on information searching, philosophy of science, medical ethics, Evidence-based medicine (EBM), study design and statistics. These activities included 3 mandatory assignments: 1) a short oral and a written presentation of a hypothesis based on 3 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms they were assigned individually; 2) a written assignment including interpretation of statistical analysis from a scientific paper; and 3) a written assignment comprising a presentation of a clinical problem, development of a research question using the PICO model, literature search and analysis of the results
Summary
Much has been written about structure and outcomes of medical students’ curricular research projects, less attention has been paid to the expectations on such projects. Despite trends in undergraduate education towards greater integration of subjects, the curricula are often organized in specialized fields such as anatomy and physiology. Prior to undertaking research projects, students are usually offered separate or partly integrated courses in e.g., epidemiology and research methodology. These courses oftentimes focus on “using research”, e.g., training practical skills such as carrying out a literature search or appraising evidence rather than “research training” (e.g. formulating a research question, and critically analyzing and drawing conclusions from research data) [4, 5]. Medical students who embark on scholarly projects often lack the experience to carry out an entire research process and may find it difficult to understand the generic value of the course in regard to their future career and life-long learning [6]
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