Engagement Of Medical Students Research Articles

Mediating effects of achievement goal orientation on the relationship between growth mindset and learning engagement in medical students: A cross-sectional descriptive study.

Learning engagement is an important factor to improve the quality of medical education. Exploring the level of medical students' learning engagement and its internal mechanism is of practical significance to improve their academic achievement. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between achievement goal orientation, growth mindset and learning engagement of medical students, and explore the mediating effect of achievement goal orientation on growth mindset and learning engagement. A correlational cross-sectional study was performed using an online questionnaire. The study was conducted from February to March 2024 among 279 medical college students. General information questionnaire, the Mindsets Scale, Achievement Goal Orientation Scale and Learning Engagement Scale were used for investigation. Calculations were performed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences 27.0 and Mplus 7.0. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and mediation effect analyses were used to analyze the data. A total of 279 valid questionnaires were finally recovered. The learning engagement score of medical students was (56.17 ± 13.01), growth mindset score was (11.26 ± 3.37). The approach goal orientation played a partial mediating role between growth mindset and learning engagement in medical college students. Growth mindset can influence learning engagement through achievement goal orientation. Medical college educators should pay attention to the cultivation of students' growth mindset and enhance their learning engagement. The verification of the mediating effect of approach goal provides data support for formulating relevant intervention measures.

The outcomes of team-based learning vs small group interactive learning in the obstetrics and gynecology course for undergraduate students.

Team-based learning (TBL) is a well-established active teaching method which has been shown to have pedagogical advantages in some areas such as business education and preclinical disciplines in undergraduate medical education. Increasingly, it has been adapted to clinical disciplines. However, its superiority over conventional learning methods used in clinical years of medical school remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare TBL with traditional seminars delivered in small group interactive learning (SIL) format in terms of knowledge acquisition and retention, satisfaction and engagement of undergraduate medical students during the 6-week obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. The study was conducted at Karolinska Institutet, a medical university in Sweden, and had a prospective, crossover design. All fifth-year medical students attending the obstetrics and gynecology clerkship, at four different teaching hospitals in Stockholm (approximately 40 students per site), in the Autumn semester of 2022 were invited to participate. Two seminars (one in obstetrics and one in gynecology) were designed and delivered in two different formats, ie TBL and SIL. The student:teacher ratio was approximately 10:1 in the traditional SIL seminars and 20:1 in the TBL. All TBL seminars were facilitated by a single teacher who had been trained and certified in TBL. Student knowledge acquisition and retention were assessed by final examination scores, and the engagement and satisfaction were assessed by questionnaires. For the TBL seminars, individual and team readiness assurance tests were also performed and evaluated. Of 148 students participating in the classrooms, 132 answered the questionnaires. No statistically significant differences were observed between TBL and SIL methods with regard to student knowledge acquisition and retention, engagement and satisfaction. We found no differences in student learning outcomes or satisfaction using TBL or SIL methods. However, as TBL had a double the student to teacher ratio as compared with SIL, in settings where teachers are scarce and suitable rooms are available for TBL sessions, the method may be beneficial in reducing faculty workload without compromising students' learning outcomes.

Development and Validation of Student Engagement Questionnaire

Introduction: Medical students drop out rate in Pakistan is very high. In our country, only 84% of students graduate, which is significantly lower than the average for developing nations. Class engagement, has been identified as a solution to the failures, dropouts and motivational lacking of students. Being multifaceted construct, the problems of defining engagement have also led to inconsistencies in measurements too. Most of the previous student engagement questionnaires had lack of information regarding their reliability and validity, transparency and auditability. They were long and complex to understand and only measures the behavioral and social engagement. So there is a need to develop questionnaires that is short, freely available and can easily be understood by all stakeholders involved in teaching and learning. Aims & Objectives: To develop a questionnaire to assess the engagement of undergraduate medical students during classroom activities. Place and Duration of Study: This was mixed method study, conducted at the University College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Lahore between November 2022 &May 2023under the guidelines of AMEE Guide 87. Material & Methods: After receiving consent, the first draft of the questionnaire was distributed to 14 clinical and basic science subject experts, as well as medical educators, for qualitative and content validation. To determine the response process and to address any misunderstandings regarding the significance of questionnaire items, cognitive interviews with six students were conducted. Responses from 210 undergraduate medical and dentistry students were used to gauge reliability. SPSS version 23 was used to evaluate the questionnaires, a p-value of ?0.05 was considered significant For the scale, an internal consistency of between 0.50 and 0.70 according to Cronbach's alpha was deemed sufficient Results: There were 14 experts who gave qualitative expert validation. The initial student engagement questionnaire contained 49 items to measure 5 theoretical constructs, and were modified to make them more comprehensible and applicable. The questionnaire’s overall scale validity index was 0.84. After the cognitive interviews, there were just twenty items left. Content validation was finished in two rounds with 20 final items, yielding acceptable values of SI- CVI 0.83 & CCA 2.8. After the questionnaire had undergone pilot testing, 210 students filled it out, and the reliability of the survey was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, which came out to be 0.721. Conclusion: Medical colleges can use this valid and reliable student engagement questionnaire to assess students' emotional, behavioral, and cognitive involvement in class.

A multi-center cross-sectional study on identification of influencing factors of medical students’ emotional engagement in China

BackgroundStudies exploring influencing factors of emotional engagement among medical students are scarce. Thus, we aimed to identify influencing factors of medical students’ emotional engagement.MethodsWe carried out a multi-center cross-sectional study among 10,901 medical students from 11 universities in China. The Chinese version of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student version (UWES-S) was used to evaluate emotional engagement level of medical students. The predictors related to engagement level were determined by the logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, we constructed a nomogram to predict emotional engagement level of medical students.ResultsA total of 10,576 sample were included in this study. The mean emotional engagement score was 74.61(± 16.21). In the multivariate logistic regression model, we found that males showed higher engagement level compared with females [odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval (CI)): 1.263 (1.147, 1.392), P < 0.001]. Medical students from the second batches of medical universities had higher engagement level and from “Project 985” universities had lower engagement level compared with 211 project universities [OR (95%CI): 1.376 (1.093, 1.733), P = 0.007; OR (95%CI): 0.682 (0.535, 0.868), P = 0.002]. Medical students in grade 4 and grade 2 presented lower engagement level compared with in grade 1 [OR (95%CI): 0.860 (0.752, 0.983), P = 0.027; OR (95%CI): 0.861 (0.757, 0.980), P = 0.023]. Medical students lived in provincial capital cities had higher engagement level compared with in country [OR (95%CI): 1.176 (1.022, 1.354), P = 0.024]. Compared with eight-year emotional duration, medical students in other emotional duration (three-year and four-year) had lower engagement level [OR (95%CI): 0.762 (0.628, 0.924), P = 0.006]. Medical students’ engagement level increased with increases of grade point average and interest in studying medicine. Medical students learned by converging style showed lower engagement level [OR (95%CI): 0.827 (0.722, 0.946), P = 0.006] compared with accommodating style. The model showed good discriminative ability (area under curve = 0.778), calibrating ability and clinical utility.ConclusionsWe identified influencing factors of medical students’ emotional engagement and developed a nomogram to predict medical students’ emotional engagement level, providing reference and convenience for educators to assess and improve emotional engagement level of medical students. It is crucial for educators to pay more attention to emotional engagement of medical students and adopt effective strategies to improve their engagement level.

Revisiting global health education: The engagement of medical students

Revisiting global health education: The engagement of medical students

From an Empty, to an Almost Full, and Eventually to a Never Full Glass: The Evolving Challenges of Medical Education.

It has traditionally been considered that the larger the amount of knowledge, the greater the competency of a physician. However, the vertiginously fast accumulation of novel knowledge in modern medicine raises the risk that students and residents get lost in the chaos of information to which they are exposed. Thus, it becomes evident that redefining the model of medical education (and possibly rethinking what a "good" doctor means) becomes inevitable. Current challenges in medical training include early engagement of medical students in research activities and evidence-based medicine procedures, as well as adoption of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence. Gradually, the paradigm of the competent physician will transform from the "one who knows well" to "one who knows well where to search for knowledge." Given that person-centeredness remains an essential goal of medical education, supervision and assistance by academic staff are needed to ensure that the new training model has a positive impact on person-centered and doctor-patient relationships.

Re-exploring writer-reader interaction: Analyzing metadiscourse in EAP students’ infographics

As multimodal texts become ubiquitous in the digital age, analyzing how writers interact with readers via the multimodal genre is getting increasingly important. Enlightened by Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) work on visual design, D'Angelo (2016) extended the metadiscourse model (Hyland, 2004) and proposed a new framework of visual metadiscourse to analyze academic posters. In this study, we adopted the well-recognized metadiscourse model (Hyland, 2004; Hyland & Tse, 2004) and developed D'Angelo's (2016) visual metadiscourse framework to evaluate the comprehensibility and engagement of medical students' infographics completed in an EAP class. A total of 127 Visme infographics on how to prevent hypertension were collected and analyzed. We focused on how the students used diverse metadiscourse resources to inform and engage the audience in their infographics. We coded interactive and interactional features regarding both textual metadiscourse and visual metadiscourse for each poster and identified the overall patterns of the EAP students' metadiscourse use. We also zoomed in on illustrative posters to depict the students' use of various metadiscourse resources. This study adds to the metadiscourse model by extending it to the multimodal genre and sheds new light on multimodal pedagogy.

Asociación entre la calidad de 3 tipos de rotación clínica y el enganche académico de estudiantes de Medicina

IntroductionThe association between academic quality of clinical rotations and academic engagement of medical students is not well known. This work aims to study this association in three clinical rotations (hospital, simulation, and during the pediatrics course in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Material and methodsCross-sectional correlation study with medical students who completed pediatric clinical rotation. Academic quality and engagement were assessed using the ROTA-Q and UWES-S 17 questionnaires, respectively. The means and standard deviations of each variable were computed, and the correlations were evaluated using the Pearson test (significant if p<0.05). Results44 students participated. The average of the ROTA-Q scale was 4.39 ± 0.62 [1–5] and that of the UWES-S 17 scale was 4.28 ± 0.90 [1.76–6]. The Pearson coefficient between the quality of the rotations and the students’ academic engagement was 0.319 (p < 0.05). The association with academic engagement was highest in the tele-education rotation, followed by the simulation rotation, and finally, by the hospital rotation. ConclusionsThe academic quality of the pediatric rotation is positively related to students’ engagement in academic activities. The perception of academic quality, engagement levels, and the association between these variables were highest in the tele-education rotation. Actions are necessary for the continuous improvement of quality and the promotion of training mediated by tele-education and simulation.

Patients' Attitudes Toward the Involvement of Medical Students in Their Health Care in the Family Medicine Clinics in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia.

Background The medical undergraduates in the College of Medicine at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia, are dedicated to undergrad training in family health facilities. Throughout this clinical attachment, students receive instructions in family practice, patient management, communication skills, clinical examination, and history-taking. Objectives This study was conducted to assess patients' attitudes and key contributing variables toward having medical students participate in their health care consultations in family medicine clinics in the Makkah region of Saudi Arabia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 529 patients who attended family medicine clinics in primary health care settings and were living in the Makkah region. The researchers collected the relevant data during a three-month period (from February 1 to the end of April 2023) by administering a validated, well-structured, self-administered online survey of 24 items on several electronic platforms and analyzing it with SPSS Version 23. Results The mean of their answers on attitude was found to be 41.6 ± 8.51, suggesting a positive attitude of the patients toward the involvement of medical students in their health care. Around 150 (28.4%) of the participants strongly agreed that medical students obtained their histories, and 119 (22.5%) strongly agreed that medical students performed clinical examinations for them. Around 104 (19.7) of the participants strongly agreed and 140 (26.5) perceived that the involvement of medical students in their health care improves doctors' competence. Being 56 years old or older, widowed, retired, or having chronic diseases were found to be associated with a more positive attitude of the patients toward the involvement of medical students in their health care, with p-values of 0.024, 0.034, 0.009, and 0.005, respectively. Conclusions Patients showed favorable attitudes toward the existence and participation of medical students in their health care in family medicine clinics. The provision of health-related information and the taking of a detailed history were the most notable benefits of medical students' involvement in patient care, according to most of the patients. Older, widowed, retired, and those with chronic diseases seemed to possess a positive attitude toward the engagement of medical students in their health care in the family medicine clinics.

The relationship of online pre-recorded neurology mini-lectures to medical student assessment: a pilot study

IntroductioneLearning has become an essential part of medical education. However, there is a lack of published research on student engagement with online pre-recorded mini-lectures and its relation to assessment. The aim of this pilot study is to explore the relationship between newly introduced neurology pre-recorded mini-lectures and undergraduate medical students engagement and assessment. This may encourage the wider use of mini-lectures in undergraduate medical curricula.MethodsThe engagement of medical students with 48 online pre-recorded neurology mini-lectures was assessed through a Learning Management System. To measure engagement, data was stratified according to the number of watched/downloaded mini-lectures. A point system was used (out of 5): − 1 point = watching/downloading 0–10 mini-lectures, 2 points = watching/downloading 11–20 mini-lectures, 3 points = watching/downloading 21–30 mini-lectures, 4 points = watching/downloading 31–40 mini-lectures and, 5 points = watching/downloading 41–48 mini-lectures. The students’ engagement was correlated with their neurology assessments [Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), and knowledge-based assessment 10 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and one 10-mark Short Answer Question, (SAQ)], internal medicine grade and annual grade point average (GPA) using the Pearson correlation coefficient.ResultsThe mean engagement of 34, Year 5, medical students is 3.9/5. There is a significant positive correlation between engagement and internal medicine grade (r = 0.35, p = 0.044). There is a moderate correlation between engagement and neurology OSCE (r = 0.23), annual Year 5 GPA (r = 0.23), neurology knowledge-based score (r = 0.22) and composite neurology knowledge/OSCE (r = 0.27). The knowledge-based assessment included SAQ and MCQs: there was a moderate correlation with SAQ (r = 0.30), but a weak negative correlation with the MCQs (r =-0.11). Sub-groups analysis comparing the top- and low- or non- engaging students made these weaker correlations stronger.ConclusionThis pilot study indicates a high rate of engagement with an online pre-recorded mini-lectures resource and evidence of moderate correlation between engagement and assessment. Online pre-recorded mini-lectures should be used more in delivering the curriculum contents of the clinical clerkships. Further studies are needed to evaluate the relation and the impact of the mini-lectures on assessment.

Creating opportunities to engage with prospective historically marginalized trainees with clinical simulation

BackgroundRecruiting a diverse group of medical students, house officers, and faculty in medicine is challenging—particularly for predominantly white, midwest institutions that may not be racially or ethnically diverse. PurposeTo evaluate a novel clinical simulation program, SiMfest, for recruiting house officers from historically marginalized populations to our institution to demonstrate our leadership's commitment to high-quality education and recruitment of these students to enhance diversity in academic medicine. MethodsThe Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, institutional leadership, and clinical department chairs developed a novel and engaging series of clinical simulations, SiMfest, to engage the pipeline of historically marginalized trainees and demonstrate our leadership's commitment to high-quality education. SiMfest is a two-hour simulation session presented annually (2017–2019) by our institution at the Student National Medical Association Annual Medical Education Conference. ResultsOver 800 students participated in SiMfest sessions over three years. Of the 461 participants who completed a survey after participation, 301 identified as female, and 382 indicated a racial category considered as historically marginalized in medicine—91% of whom identified as African American or Black. Thirty percent (n = 125) of respondents identified as pre-medical (e.g., undergraduate, post-baccalaureate) students and 69% (n = 289) identified as current medical students. Over 80% of students would recommend SiMfest to others. Additionally, 73% (n = 87) of pre-medical and 54% (n = 143) of medical students reported exposure to a previously unknown specialty. Thirty-three department representatives reported their SiMfest experience revealed new information about historically marginalized applicants that they may not have engaged with through the traditional application process but would be more likely to engage with in future diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. ConclusionSiMfest harnessed our institution's high-quality training, personnel resources, and diversity, equity, and inclusion values to bring historically marginalized students in medicine and department leadership together to learn about one another and offer experiential learning. SiMfest may serve as a model for other institutions to draw on their strengths to develop innovative recruitment programs that promote the education and engagement of undergraduate and medical students from historically marginalized populations while simultaneously promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion culture change.

A Comparative Study of the Effect of Two Methods of Online Education Based on Sweller'S Cognitive Load Theory and Online Education in A Common Way on the Academic Engagement of Medical Students in Anatomy.

One of the most important indicators of the quality of education and academic achievement is students' academic engagement, and the progress of using online education has fundamentally changed the learning-teaching processes Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of two methods of online education based on Sweller's cognitive load theory and online education in a conventional method on the academic engagement of medical students in anatomy. The present study was a quasi-experimental study with two groups not identical to the before and after design. To collect information, the Shuffle and Becker academic engagement questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha of 0.85 was used. The subject was 104 basic science students. General medicine students were divided by non-random method into two groups of intervention (n = 52) and control (n = 52). After the intervention, a post-test was taken. After collecting data, this data was entered into SPSS software version 24. The results of the independent t-test showed that there is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of academic engagement in the control and intervention groups after the intervention and also, the results of the dependent t-test showed that online teaching of anatomy course based on Sweller's cognitive load theory has a positive and significant effect on medical students' academic engagement. Considering the results of this study and the significant effect of online education based on cognitive theory, it is suggested that teachers and educators be educated about the basic principles of load cognitive theory so that they can apply these principles due to the limited capacity of active memory.

Elective Courses in Global Surgery for Undergraduate Medical Students: A Narrative Review and a Proposal for European Universities

Global surgery (GS) is the discipline of improving health by expanding universal access to surgical care. GS is an essential part of the global health (GH) concept, but it is almost invariably neglected in academic settings. This review assesses the engagement of undergraduate medical students in the field of GS. PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched with focus on electives organized by universities and only eight results were found. The scientific literature on this topic is scarce and uneven, and the number of students involved in these experiences is considerably low. Although few, the existing electives prove that building sustainable and useful GS projects is possible and that both students from high-income countries (HICs) and low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) can extensively benefit from these experiences. Given the currently low involvement of European universities and medical schools, of which the authors are part, this review aims at encouraging European universities to organize GS electives for their students. In addition, this review suggests key activities to undertake in such electives including theoretical sections, research projects, and bilateral international rotations between HICs and LMICs.

The effectiveness of education model based on problem solving approach on educational engagement of medical students of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch

The effectiveness of education model based on problem solving approach on educational engagement of medical students of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch

Assessment of Cognitive Engagement and Interest of Medical Students in a Serious Game Design Activity

Assessment of Cognitive Engagement and Interest of Medical Students in a Serious Game Design Activity

Twitter Engagement of Medical Students Applying to Urology Residency During COVID-19: A Mixed Methods Study

To determine how medical students' Twitter engagement impacted the urology residency match and overall student perception of Twitter. We utilized a mixed methods approach with (1) Twitter metrics data, (2) online student surveys, and (3) qualitative semi-structured interviews. Interviews were evaluated with iterative thematic content analysis, while quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and univariate analyses. We identified 245 Twitter accounts of Urology residency applicants from the 2021 cycle. Matched students were more likely to have a Twitter account (59% matched vs 28% unmatched, P = .002) and account creation increased following the COVID-19 pandemic announcement. Matched students' profiles were associated with more followers, bios mentioning Urology, home Urology residency programs, and no international flags and/or references. The online survey had a 16% response rate. A majority reported utilizing Twitter for residency information (95%), wanting to continue Twitter throughout residency (67%), and feeling uncomfortable tweeting about racial, political, or diversity issues (64%). Nine interviews revealed 4 themes: Twitter's opportunities for networking, Twitter's role in the application process, the burden of social media use, and professionalism. Students applying to Urology residency increasingly utilized Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic and having a Twitter account was associated with matching. While Twitter may not be necessary to succeed in the match and can pose an additional time burden, applicants view it as an opportunity for learning, networking, and personal branding.

Impact of compulsory participation of medical students in a multiuser online game to learn radiological anatomy and radiological signs within the virtual world Second Life.

Competitive game-based learning within Second Life enables effective teaching of basic radiological anatomy and radiological signs to medical students, with good acceptance and results when students participate voluntarily, but unknown in a compulsory context. The objectives of this study were to reproduce a competitive online game based on self-guided presentations and multiple-choice tests in a mandatory format, to evaluate its development and student perceptions compared to a voluntary edition in 2015 (N = 90). In 2016 and 2017, respectively, 191 and 182 third-year medical students participated in the game as a mandatory course activity. The mean (±SD) score of the game was 74.7% (±19.5%) in 2015, 71.2% (±21.5%) in 2016, and 67.5% (±21.5%) in 2017 (P < 0.01). Participants valued positively the organization and educational contents but found the virtual world less attractive and the game less interesting than in the voluntary edition. The experience globally was rated with 8.2 (±1.5), 7.8 (±1.5), and 7.1 (±1.7) mean points (±SD) in a ten-point scale, in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 editions, respectively (P < 0.05). Competitive learning games within virtual worlds like Second Life have great learning potential in radiology, but the mean score in the game decreased, acceptance of virtual world technology was lower, and opinion about the game was worse with a compulsory participation, and even worse when dropouts were not allowed. Under the conditions in which this study was conducted, learning games in three-dimensional virtual environments should be voluntary to maintain adequate motivation and engagement of medical students.

Volunteering and social engagement of medical students in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Volunteering and social engagement of medical students in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Virtual Team Member: Remote Engagement of Medical Students in COVID-19 Care.

BackgroundMedical education abruptly changed in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting experiential learning in clinical clerkship as medical students were removed from direct patient interactions and care team participation. Re-configuring a hospital clinical rotation using virtual care platforms allowed students to re-engage in the clinical environment and actively participate in patient care.MethodsDuring the height of the pandemic, we implemented a 4-week “virtual team member” (VTM) inpatient medicine elective for medical students in their second year and above to participate in acute patient care during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tasks included providing daily updates to patients and family members along and care coordination. Faculty experts in infectious disease, mental health, ethics, and patient safety incorporated weekly didactic video talks throughout the elective. Student feedback was obtained anonymously through pre-, mid-, and post-elective questionnaires.ResultsA total of 26 students enrolled in the two 4-week blocks, with 85% in the 2nd year. Survey response rates for the pre, mid, and post-rotation questionnaires were 96%, 77%, 58% respectively. Of the 15 students who completed the post-survey, the majority strongly and somewhat agreed that the elective met expectations (12/15, 80%), was worthwhile (14/15, 93%) and met goals (12/15, 80%). Best parts of the elective most frequently cited by students were patient care and teamwork. Working remotely was the greatest challenge.ConclusionsDesigning a virtual role for students successfully allowed students to re-engage in the acute care setting and connect with patients and participate in COVID-19 care.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01422-8.

1131 The Integration of Cardiothoracic Practical Skills Workshop in The Undergraduate Medical School Curriculum and Its Impact on Promoting Interest in Cardiothoracic Surgery

Abstract Recently, a downward trend is seen in undergraduates wishing to pursue a career in cardiothoracic surgery(CTS). This is partly due to lack of clinical exposure and limited teaching during the undergraduate years; the focus being on cardiac ad vascular pathology. Aim Assess if WETLAB workshop encourages the engagement of medical students in CTS surgery Method We hosted a cardiac WETLAB workshop, led by a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon. Attendees were taught how to carry out an end-to-side anastomosis on animal tissue. We used pre-and -post exposure questionnaires composed of 10 items to assess the ability of the workshop to improve undergraduate interest in cardiothoracic surgery. The questionnaire included questions around students’ interest in the speciality, previous exposure to the speciality and whether students want to pursue a career in the speciality. Results Out of the 12 attendees, 10 completed both questionnaires. The workshop was well received with the overall satisfaction of 9.64 out of 10. It significantly increased respondents’ interest in CTS(z=-0.06, p = 0.01) but did not show any significant difference in encouraging them to pursue surgery. 100% of respondents agreed that specialised practical workshops should be incorporated within the medical school curriculum and that if the opportunity arises, they will attend another in the future. Conclusions Specialised practical workshops have the potential to play a significant role in the medical school curriculum in order to enhance exposure to the field of cardiothoracic surgery. This may lead to a positive impact on the number of doctors wishing to pursue this speciality in the future.