Assessment of the Research Interests and Perceptions of First-Year Medical Students at 4 Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

Abstract

Context There are limited data regarding the experiences of and attitudes toward research participation among osteopathic medical students despite rapidly increasing enrollment and expansion of the number of osteopathic medical schools. Objective To assess first-year osteopathic medical students’ experience with research, their interest in it, their perceptions of its value, and barriers to participation. Methods An anonymous, online survey was sent to 868 medical students in the class of 2021 at 4 colleges of osteopathic medicine. The survey consisted of 14 multiple-choice items (7 of which offered the option of a written response) and 1 open-ended item that asked them to report their age. The survey remained open for 2 weeks, with 1 reminder email sent on the last day of the survey. Incomplete responses were excluded from the analysis. Results A total of 328 participants were included, for a response rate of 38%. A majority of respondents reported previous research experience (261 [79.6%]), consistent with a strong perception that research participation is important (315 [96.0%]). Fewer students (177 [54.0%]) were either currently participating in research or affirmed interest in performing research during medical school, with the highest level of interest in clinical research (259 [79.0%]) followed by basic science (166 [50.6%]). Regarding incentives that might encourage participation in research, students preferred monetary compensation (213 [64.9%]) or extra credit in courses (195 [59.5%]). A commonly reported barrier to performing research during medical school was the possibility of a negative impact on performance in coursework (289 [88.1%]). Conclusion First-year osteopathic medical students are interested in research, view research experience as valuable, and consider research experience as beneficial to future career development. This study's findings highlight opportunities for increasing student participation in research through incentives or removal of perceived barriers.

Medical student research opportunities: a survey of osteopathic medical schools in the United States

“…Additionally, all OMSs can benefit from learning those research skills (e.g., literature review, hypothesis generation) that have applications to clinical practice, and research experiences improve OMSs’ resumes for residencies [ 15 ]. However, a survey study of OMS-I students at four COMs suggests that not all OMSs (177/328 [54.0%]) are interested in research [ 16 ], and medical students have been shown to report greater satisfaction with voluntary, compared to mandatory, research programs [ 17 ]. Further, requiring disinterested OMSs to conduct research under faculty mentorship is a drain on financial resources and faculty members’ time [ 15 ].…”

“…Most SRPs provided some or all OMSs with stipends, and some programs offered course credit. Although a survey of OMS-I students at four COMs showed both monetary compensation (213/328 [64.9%]) and extra credit in courses (195/328 [59.5%]) to be strong incentives for OMSs to participate in research, the same study also showed that a slim majority of respondents were either currently doing research or planning to do research while in medical school [ 16 ]. In the present study, seven SRPs provided neither incentive, including the three SRPs with the highest proportions of participating students relative to total enrollment.…”

“…In our experience, interviews provide an opportunity to probe further into students’ interests and to determine compatibility with potential mentors and projects. Nearly all SRPs offered clinical research options, which 3 prior survey studies have shown to be the most popular type of research for OMSs (65.5–82.0%) [ 16 , 20 , 21 ]. A majority of SRPs provided research lectures or didactics.…”

Addressing Motivations and Barriers to Research Involvement during Medical School among Osteopathic Medical Students in the United States

“…For our main survey, we used a descriptive survey study design to investigate the previous research experiences and current perceptions of research among first-year osteopathic medical students at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM) in Indianapolis, Indiana. The main survey instrument (Supplemental File S1), which was used in our prior publication [10], consisted of fifteen items: fourteen multiple-choice questions, with select questions allowing for participants to write in responses, and one question asking participants to input their age. Osteopathic medical students in the classes of 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 who had entered medical school three weeks earlier, were sent an email inviting them to voluntarily participate in an anonymous survey on research interests.…”

“…), only 59% of osteopathic medical students do so [9]. This is notable because research by us and others indicates that the majority of osteopathic medical students express interest in clinical research [10][11][12][13]. Thus, it is important to identify osteopathic medical students' motivations for participating in research as well as the real and/or perceived barriers preventing participation in research during osteopathic medical school.…”