Medical students as human subjects in educational research – the importance of responder bias

Walsh, Kieran

doi:10.3402/meo.v18i0.20757

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Fourteen of fifty-two students who met inclusion criteria (27%) participated in interviews: responder bias may mean that those who were willing to participate were different to those who were not [53]. The experiences and perspectives of students from this academic year who did not participate in interviews are unknown.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do students struggle in their first year of medical school? A qualitative study of student voices

2022

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Background Struggling at medical school incorporates academic failure, course disruption and early course exit. Struggling is usually multi-factorial involving academic, personal, financial and health factors. Struggling students may fail to engage with available support. First year students are particularly susceptible as they transition to university and a professional career. Methods The study aim was to explore medical students’ own voices on struggling and assess how they match up to existing literature. During one academic year, all first year medical students at the University of Birmingham (UK) who opted to leave or were required to withdraw (n = 52) were asked to participate in an individual exit interview. Fifteen students responded and fourteen (27%) agreed to be interviewed. Interviews were face to face (n = 10), telephone (n = 3) and via email (n = 1). Interviews were unstructured and led by a general open question. Framework analysis identified key data themes. Results Students described year one of medical school as a critical transition. They simultaneously needed to adapt to being a university student, a medical student and a doctor. A six-group typology of students emerged, each of which struggled with one or more of these adaptations. The groups were: wrong degree choice, mental health problems, acute crisis, at capacity, slow starter and family rock. Some students experienced an isolated problem from within this typology. Most had a multi-factorial story of struggling. Mental health problems and acute crises were the most common issues. Early professional identity formation was a key hurdle. Help-seeking behaviours were varied. Conclusions This study explores the narratives of medical students who struggled from an early stage and presents a data-driven typology of their issues. It advances existing qualitative understanding of this topic, which to date is predominantly derived from educator perceptions and not specific to early course issues. Although our results broadly cohere with existing knowledge, we also present novel findings which may reflect our focus on first year students. Issues around early professional identity formation may reflect the increasing emphasis on professionalism in medical school curricula. Listening to these narratives could help university staff to identify students at risk of struggling for targeted support.

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do students struggle in their first year of medical school? A qualitative study of student voices

2022

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“…As research participants, students in many ways constitute a vulnerable group (Walsh, 2013) and there are specific factors to consider and potential issues to avoid (Boileau et al, 2018). The relationship between student and researcher is an important consideration, particularly when students are recruited by the same faculty members that they rely on for their education.…”

Section: Students As Research Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Veterinary Educational Researcher's Handbook

Hunt¹,

Baillie²,

Thompson³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Fundamental to the success, growth, and quality of veterinary education is the research base on which it is founded. Research generates new knowledge, validates initiatives, and guides innovation. Veterinary educational research (VER) is a relatively new field but is rapidly growing and emerging as a discipline in its own right. It is important to conduct educational research studies and to disseminate the findings to raise awareness among the community, and to allow other educators to critically evaluate and refine their teaching methods and design further scientific inquiries. Our group undertook a two-part study. In the first part, we used a survey to collect information about the status of educational research among the international veterinary community, the challenges encountered and tips for success (Baillie et al., 2021). More than 250 participants representing 41 countries completed the survey; 79% had performed VER and 21% were planning to in the near future. The most common challenges included difficulties when designing and undertaking studies, while the most frequently mentioned tips for success related to working with people who can provide expertise, mentoring, and collaboration. The second part of the project involved semi-structured interviews and provided a narrative view of lived experiences of some of the first, and now well-established, veterinary educational researchers (Fogelberg et al., 2021). Specific challenges identified by interviewees included limited resources, lack of respect for the discipline and having to acquire the skills to transition from a clinical to an educational research focus. There was an overall positive outlook related to being able to better influence policies, more satisfying teaching and leadership roles, and an excitement for learning and nurturing future educational researchers. The growing enthusiasm for VER together with the data from our studies informed and inspired the creation of this ‘Veterinary Educational Researcher’s Handbook’ to support the community. The handbook consists of a series of relatively short chapters, written in accessible style for busy veterinary educators. The chapters follow the researcher’s journey from the initial idea, to building a team and reviewing the existing literature, to explanations of the common study types and the associated study design (which were identified through our research study as evaluating educational interventions, using surveys, focus groups and interviews, systematic reviews, qualitative research and mixed methods). The handbook also offers guidance to address some of the challenges identified such as funding (writing grant applications), obtaining research ethics approval, recruiting and managing study participants, collecting and analyzing data, and the important final step of disseminating the findings.

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Medical students as human subjects in educational research – the importance of responder bias

Cited by 2 publications

References 1 publication

Why do students struggle in their first year of medical school? A qualitative study of student voices

Why do students struggle in their first year of medical school? A qualitative study of student voices

Veterinary Educational Researcher's Handbook

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