Conducting Research as a Medical Student: A Need for Change

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2202

Keywords:

Education, Medical, Undergraduate, Interdisciplinary Study, Academic opportunities, Research integration, Research initiatives, Student engagement, Cardiovascular Research Unit, Medical curriculum, Mentorship, Breakthroughs in medicine, Time management, Flexner Report, Physician-scientists, Research committees, Horizontal mentorship, Translational research, Global South, Curriculum vitae (CV)

Abstract

This article is a short opinion piece addressing the personal and professional importance of performing research, while also highlighting some of the difficulties we might face while doing so. With this said, a historical perspective on research conducted by medical students is given, which exemplifies the significance of this component in students' lives and future careers. Alongside this, the statistics also exemplify the student's desire to do more research and how universities have failed to meet students’ expectations. Finally, some examples of small but immediate measures are offered that can help reform medical curricula through new mentorship regimes, better communication, more financial support, and better overall opportunities that will be key in motivating more students to conduct research.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Bergmann C, Muth T, Loerbroks A. Medical students' perceptions of stress due to academic studies and its interrelationships with other domains of life: a qualitative study. Med Educ Online. 2019;24(1):1603526-1603526. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2019.1603526

Bonilla-Vélez J, Small M, Urrutia R, Lomberk G. The enduring value of research in medical education. Int J Med Stud. 2017;5(1):37-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2017.168

Amgad M, Man Kin Tsui M, Liptrott SJ, Shash E. Medical Student Research: An Integrated Mixed-Methods Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLos One. 2015;10(6):e0127470. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127470

Frishman WH. Student research projects and theses: should they be a requirement for medical school graduation? Heart Dis. May-Jun 2001;3(3):140-4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00132580-200105000-00002

Solomon SS, Tom SC, Pichert J, Wasserman D, Powers AC. Impact of medical student research in the development of physician-scientists. J Investig Med. 2003;51(3):149-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jim-51-03-17

AlRajhi B, Omer I, Abualnaja R, Alqahtani F, Hakami AY. Medical Students' Attitudes and Influential Factors Towards Conducting Medical Research. Int J Med Stud. 2023;11(1):45-51 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.1667

Richardson J, Woolf K, Potts HWW, Bark P, Gill D. What influences medical students' choice of Student Selected Component? The relationship between sex, personality, motivation and SSC choice in first year medical students. Med Teach. 2009;31(9), e418-24 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590902744878

Agha R, Fowler A, Whitehurst K, Rajmohan S, Gundogan B, Koshy K. Why apply for an intercalated research degree? Int J Surg Oncol (NY). 2017;2(6):e27. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/IJ9.0000000000000027

Ringsted C, Hodges B, Scherpbier A. 'The research compass': an introduction to research in medical education: AMEE Guide no. 56. Med Teach. 2011;33(9):695-709. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2011.595436

Griffin MF, Hindocha S. Publication practices of medical students at British medical schools: Experience, attitudes and barriers to publish. Med Teach. 2011;33(1):e1-e8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2011.530320

Reinders JJ, Kropmans TJ, Cohen-Schotanus J. Extracurricular research experience of medical students and their scientific output after graduation. Med Educ. 2005;39(2):237. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2004.02078.x

Frenk J, Chen L, Bhutta ZA, et al. Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. Lancet. 2010;376(9756):1923-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61854-5

Zheng DX. The Need for Horizontal Mentorship Networks to Facilitate Medical Students’ Engagement in Research. Acad Med. 2022;97(2):167-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004493

Schexnayder S, Starring H, Fury M, Mora A, Leonardi C, Dasa V. The formation of a medical student research committee and its impact on involvement in departmental research. Med Educ Online. 2018;23(1):1424449. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2018.1424449

Burgoyne LN, O'Flynn S, Boylan GB. Undergraduate medical research: the student perspective. Med Educ Online. 2010;15(1):5212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v15i0.5212

Flowchart on Some of the Proposed Changes and their Intertwining

Downloads

Published

2024-05-13 — Updated on 2024-07-09

How to Cite

Rodrigues Gomes, J. (2024). Conducting Research as a Medical Student: A Need for Change . International Journal of Medical Students, 12(2), 222–225. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2202

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2024)

Section

Experience

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2024 José Rodrigues Gomes

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org