Adapting for sustainability: Ensuring provision of research skills development for undergraduate medical students

Abstract

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic forced undergraduate medical students and staff to adapt and adjust to new strategies for conducting research. The aim of this study was to investigate its impact on student research opportunities across Irish and UK medical schools and how these programmes have responded, both in terms of innovation and practical solutions.Methods: A 17-item online mixed methods survey was distributed to academic staff across 31 Irish and UK medical schools. Participants were asked about (a) the effect of the pandemic on undergraduate research teaching and project opportunities, (b) measures taken to mitigate pandemic effects on these curricular elements.Descriptive analysis was used to summarise quantitative data, and free-text responses were thematically grouped. Findings: We received a 66.74% (n = 21) response rate to our survey. Over 75% of respondents stated that the availability of clinical research, lab-based research, summer research programmes and QI/clinical audit projects was negatively impacted by Covid-19. Mitigation strategies included adaptation and adjustment in design of research projects; migration to online content delivery and collaborative platforms; virtualisation of research dissemination opportunities; increased workload for staff involved in delivery of research programmes; flexibility around assessment of research-based assignments; and importance of open communication. Discussion and conclusions: Covid-19 has affected traditional clinical research opportunities for medical students, particularly patient-facing projects, as well as laboratory-based research options. Mitigation strategies included the introduction of time-and cost-efficient virtual data collection methods. Some of these innovations have potential for ongoing and future development, but others are short-term responsive solutions that may prove less sustainable. 1 | INTRODUCTION Across higher education, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced a prompt transition to online-based teaching, learning and assessment. 1 Infection control measures required most academic institutions to suspend traditional clinical research programmes, as well as restricting access to laboratory research environments. 2Research opportunities for medical students allow them to

Rapid Rescoping and Adaptation: An Evaluation of the Impact of COVID-19 on Postgraduate Medical Student Research Projects

“…Whilst all project types were affected by delays and downsizing, those most affected were retrospective clinical audits (91%), due to reduced access the hospital medical records required and especially where the project supervisor was a frontline healthcare professional treating and caring for patients with COVID-19. As reported by others, there was a general lack of staff and student preparedness for the abrupt transition to remote learning [ 7 , 8 ] with research work and project-based learning being particularly affected [ 5 , 9 ]. Laboratory-based projects were halted during lockdown periods and were vulnerable to the transport delays caused by the pandemic.…”

“…Added to this were significant delays in Ethics Committee review and approval [ 6 ] due to the large number of research projects needing revision. Furthermore, the project supervisor pool was significantly impacted, with many supervisors bearing increased clinical and academic workloads [ 7 ], whilst others were affected by the travel restrictions. In response to these challenges, it was necessary for the MD Project team to respond and oversee the rescope of many MD Projects in a short timeframe, so that the learning objectives of the MD Project Program were not compromised.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Research and Volunteering Activities among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study among Romanian and International Students from One Medical Faculty from Romania

“…New educational approaches, such as telemedicine, have emerged as a result of the necessity to identify new strategies to facilitate interaction between students and patients [ 31 ]. Moreover, most universities had to interrupt typical clinical scientific studies and restrict access to laboratory research environments due to infection control efforts [ 10 ].…”

“…According to over 75% of respondents, COVID-19 has a negative impact on the availability of clinical research, lab-based research, and summer research programs. The authors enhanced some novel strategies such as adaptation and adjustment in research project design, relocation to online platforms, research dissemination in the virtual environment, increased workload for research program delivery staff, flexibility around assessment of research-based assignments, and value of open communication [ 10 ].…”

“…The World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) has promoted the scientific method as one of the fundamental principles for undergraduate medical education, while the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) encourages students to participate in individual research projects [ 10 ].…”