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Presented
at the student research day of the Faculty of Medicine King Fahad Medical City
Riyadh on May 11, 2013 by Omar Hasan Kasule.
BENEFITS
OF RESEARCH FROM THE STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
·
Educational advantage: Research stimulates
scientific curiosity and love for discovery working on the frontiers of
knowledge. Research helps students’ better understand of research-based medical
literature. Students engaged in research should do better in student centered
problem-based learning and can use published papers instead of textbooks as
their sources.
·
Curriculum improvement is a main motivator of extracurricular
student research[1]. Research publications needed to enter competitive residency
programs. Student involvement in research leads to publications[2].
[1] Med Teach. 2012; 34(5):e317-24, [2]Teach Learn Med. 2008
Apr-Jun;20(2):163-7.
BENEFITS
OF RESEARCH FROM THE PRACTICE PERSPECTIVE
·
Better clinical knowledge: Physician-investigator / physician-clinician
/ physician-scientist are preferred by patients because they are thought to
have uptodate knowledge. Physician-scientists with a stronger research-based
background deliver higher level clinical care, can explain the disease better
to their patients[3]
·
Better hospital practice: Research hospitalsare considered
of higher quality and are ranked by number of publications
[3] Immunol Res. 2012 Dec;54(1-3):286-91
BENEFITS
OF RESEARCH FROM THE CAREER PERSPECTIVE
·
Instilling a future research career: Student research encouraged
a research career as shown by experiences: Duke[4], 10 US medical schools[5],
South India[6], Norway[7]. Intensive undergraduate research training attracted
students to mental health research[8].Training on research imprints moving
towards physician scientist career[9]
·
Choice of career: Required research
determined choice of women healthcare specialty[10]. Student research strongly
associated with postgraduate research[11].
[4] Acad Med.
2010 Mar;85(3):419-28, [5] J Investig
Med. 2005 Mar;53(2):73-81, [6] Indian J
Community Med. 2009 Oct;34(4):306-9, [7] BMC Med Educ.
2009 Jul 14;9:43, [8] Acad
Psychiatry. 2005 Spring;29(1):58-65, [9] Acad Med.
2003 Dec;78(12):1271-80,[10] Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005
May;192(5):1478-80, [11] Acad Med.
1990 Aug;65(8):530-3.
BENEFITS
OF STUDENT RESEARCH FROM THE COLLEGE’S PERSPECTIVE
·
Curriculum required research: Required research at
University of Washington[12], Mayo Clinic[13], 4th year community
research at KFMC and Community Residency Program in Malaysia[14]. More
community research. Lab research limited[15] but 2 KFMC students went to Yale]16].
·
Extra-curricular research: US students overseas[17], 2
KFMC students in Yale, Alfaisal university international summer science and
clinical elective research programs[18], Imam Muhammad bin Saud research
electives in the US and UK.
·
Experiences of dual degree / intercalation
programs: MD/PhD
degree Intercalated programs. Work on a doctorate promotes scientific thinking
in the future doctor[19]
[12] Acad Med.
2006 Oct;81(10):877-81, [13] Acad Med.
2008 Jun;83(6):604-10, [14] Med J Malaysia. 2002
Dec;57Suppl E:94-8, [15] Med Teach. 2008;30(9-10):875-6, [16] Professor
Omar HasanKasuleSr, [17] Am J Trop Med
Hyg. 2010 Aug;83(2):211-4, 18] AdvPhysiol Educ. 2012
Mar;36(1):27-33, [19] Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 1998
May 15;123(20):617-20.
ROLES OF
STUDENTS IN RESEARCH
·
Research subjects: educational research[20].
Psychometric research. Physiologic research. Ethical issues in students as
research subjects[21]
·
Research assistants: laboratory, data collection
or computer analysis[22], writing.
·
Degree requirement: course, undergraduate,
masters, doctoral
·
Principal investigator in simple exempt research
[20] Med Educ
Online. 2013 Feb 25;18:1-6, [21] Acad Med.
2001 Sep;76(9):871-5, [22] J Pak Med
Assoc. 2011 Feb;61(2):115-20..
ATTITUDES
OF STUDENTS TO RESEARCH
·
High student interest, enjoyment, benefit, and
positive attitude to research: New Zealand[23], Germany[24], Egypt[25], Philadelphia[26],Pakistan[27],
Canada[28], Norway[29]
·
Student interest can be increased by targeted
programs such as student research days and publication[30], research honors and
awards[31], summer assistantships[32]
·
Many students involved in research but fewer
get their work published(38%)[33]
[23] N Z Med J. 2010 Sep
24;123(1323):34-42, [24] Med Teach. 2009 Jun;31(6):e254-9, [25] J Egypt
Public Health Assoc. 2006;81(1-2):99-118, [26] Acad Med.
2005 Aug;80(8):780-5, [27] BMC Med Educ. 2006 Nov 2;6:54, [28] Med Teach.
2004 Nov;26(7):659-61, [29] Tidsskr Nor
Laegeforen. 1992 Jun 30;112(17):2205-7, [30] J Investig
Med. 2006 May;54(4):201-7, [31] Dermatol
Online J. 2006 May 30;12(4):20, [32] Fam Med.
1991 May-Jun;23(4):306-7, [33] Croat Med J. 2005 Feb;46(1):88-95.
RESEARCH
TRAINING: HOW
·
On the job training while reaching the
underserved[34]
·
One month program improved student research
knowledge and skills[35]
·
Fostering research through mentored research
projects[36]
·
4th year community research
·
Extra-curricular research
[34] Fam Med.
2005 May;37(5):315-7, [35] Ann Emerg Med. 1987 Jun;16(6):686-8, [36] Kathmandu Univ Med J (KUMJ).
2010 Jul-Sep;8(31):294-8.
RESEARCH
TRAINING: WHAT
·
Students need research skills: research
methods; information gathering, critical analysis and review, and data
processing[37]
·
Methodological courses of epidemiology and
biostatistics taught in the first year at Kuantan, Malaysia[38], Brunei[39],
and Karachi[40]. Courses on methodology in Croatia[41,42].
·
Introduction of courses on critical thinking[43]
·
Research and publication ethics at Mt Sinai[44],
Korea[45], and Wisconsin[46]
[37] Med Teach.
2010;32(3):e152-60, [38] Prof Omar Hasan KasuleSr, [39] Prof Omar Hasan Kasule
Sr., [40] J Pak Med
Assoc. 2009 May;59(5):307-10, [41] J Investig
Med. 2010 Feb;58(2):282-6, 42] Med Educ.
2004 Jan;38(1):81-6, [43] Immunol Res. 2012 Dec;54(1-3):286-91, [44]
Acad Med.
2013 Mar;88(3):364-8, [45] J EducEval
Health Prof. 2008;5:3, [46] Acad Med.
2005 Oct;80(10):925-30.
CHALLENGES
OF RESEARCH
·
Teaching in the first year: (a) research
methodology (bio and epi) (b) authorship and publication ethics (c) research
ethics
·
Enhancing interest/attitude to research and
publications
·
Finding time for research in a crowded
curriculum, clinical time vs research time, research experience associated with
low surgical skills among finalist students[47]. Student interests and balance
of research and clinical develop over time[48].
·
The challenge of mentors: busy clinicians and
scientists may not have the time to mentor students they may just use them for
routine research tasks
[47] J Surg Res. 2002
Feb;102(2):178-84, [48] Acad Med.
2007 Jul;82(7):633-45..
PROPOSALS
FOR ENHACING STUDENT RESEARCH-12 TIPS[49]
·
Educate students on the benefits of research.
·
Encourage students: to take the initiative to create opportunities
for themselves, to undertake extracurricular research, to network with other
researchers, to engage with student-selected components of their courses, and to
apply for summer research programmes, to attend scientific conferences, and to
do research during elective placements.
·
Advise students to consider intercalated degrees and to
balance their academic and research interests
·
Make students aware of the MD/PhD courses.
·
Emphasize research as a learning process and reduce
focus on output.
[49] Med Teach.
2012;34(9):705-9..
THE
CURRICULUM AND STUDENT RESEARCH
·
Configure the curriculum to accommodate
research:
·
The expectation is that the traditional
curriculum encourages research interest by discipline depth. The PBL curriculum
encourages a spirit of inquiry. At Agakhan University in Karachi PBL students
had a slightly higher research interest than those in the traditional
curriculum[50]
·
Research track vs non-research tracks in the
medical school: some students not interested in patient care for lifestyle
reasons while other not interested in research because of earning potential[51]
[50] PLoS One.
2007 Jul 18;2(7):e632, [51] Can Fam
Physician. 2011 Jun;57(6):e216-27
POLICY
INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT STUDENT RESEARCH
·
Create avenues for publication of student
research: student journals or student corner in the general journal.
·
Create special programs for student research eg
University of Iowa clinician-scientist program with early exposure to research
assuring many benefits[52], Mt Sinai office for student research opportunities[53],
research project program at Calgary[54]
·
Research faculty vs non-research medical
schools. Non-research universities do minimal research and focus on producing
GPs to cover the unmet medical needs and they employ the PBL approach. Research
universities work on the frontiers of knowledge and commercialization of
research products such as drugs etc. The research universities will hire professors
with research track and give them protected time to do research and teach /
mentor students.\
[52] J Investig
Med. 2001 Nov;49(6):486-90, [53] Acad Med.
2001 Jul;76(7):743-7, [54] Acad Med.
2001 Feb;76(2):189-94..