Reading Strategies used by Undergraduate Medical Students to Comprehend Scientific Publications

Abstract

This study identifies strategies used by non-English speaking medical students to comprehend scientific biomedical publications. It also describes the relationship among self-reported proficiency (both in English and in topic matter), perceived difficulty of the publication, reading time and subjective perceptions of learning and satisfaction.In order to understand the scientific basis of clinical practice, medical students are required to read and comprehend primary scientific literature. This skill is required because medical practice is increasingly based on sound scientific evidence. 1 However, medical schools have wrongly assumed that students have the background knowledge and skill to understand scientific texts at an appropriate level. 2 A part of students' difficulty in understanding scientific articles results from their lack of acquaintance with technical terms and the textual structure characteristic of scientific papers. 3 Another part is explained by the paucity of reading comprehension strategies and metacognition often seen in young students. 4 In non-English speaking countries, the language barrier adds to these difficulties since most scientific literature is written in English. Faculties are normally unaware of what their students do when first confronted with the challenge of reading a scientific paper. Despite the importance of understanding primary scientific literature, formal education to develop critical appraisal skills is not a part of most medical school curricula. 2 A recent communication suggests specific strategies which can be successfully used to teach this skill in medical schools. 4 The purpose of the current study was 1) to identify the reading comprehension strategies used by medical students to understand scientific biomedical publications, and 2) to study the relationship among self-reported proficiency, both in English and in the topic matter, perceived difficulty of the article, reading time and subjective perceptions of learning and satisfaction.Forty seven medical students aged 20±1 years (26 female and 21 male), enrolled in the second year of a seven-year program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile medical school (PUC-MS), participated in this study after giving their consent. The study was completed in the context of a bibliographic seminar, which is part of a mandatory Cell Biology course. Students were requested to read, present and discuss in small groups, four scientific papers throughout the school term. This is the first academic instance in which students were confronted with the primary scientific literature.Based on a review of the literature, the analysis of two focus group interviews (17 medical students), and in-depth interviews with the course director and the seminar tutors, we developed a 24-forced choice-item questionnaire to assess the reading strategies used to understand scientific journal articles. For study purposes, the questionnaire and its instructions were in the Spanish language. The instrument included items addressing the ...

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