Research Training Program in a Turkish Medical School: Challenges, Barriers and Opportunities from the Perspectives of the Students and Faculty Members

Abstract

Background: Providing medical students with opportunities for research experience is challenging for medical schools in developing countries. The Research Training Program (RTP), which is carried out in Ege University Faculty of Medicine (EUFM) parallel to the core curriculum, aims to improve the scientific competencies of the highly motivated students and to provide them with the opportunity to conduct a research. The purpose of this project is to evaluate RTP through the perspectives of students and faculty members. Methods: This phenomenological study included two groups; students of RTP and faculty members who contributed to the program. In-depth interviews were conducted with the research group whose selection was determined by maximum variation technique. Interviews with new individuals continued until data saturation was reached. The data was analysed independently by two researchers using the code list created, and then the themes and theme categories that combined the codes were determined. Results: Twenty-one RTP students and 14 faculty members were interviewed. The main motivation for students to participate was the desire to learn how to do research. The introduction course providing the students with the basic competencies needs to be improved in terms of practical activities. It was reported that during the project process students needed intensive guidance especially in finding a research topic and a mentor. The students' lack of time, deficit of enough mentoring and the fact that conducting a research does not provide a competitive advantage for residency are important obstacles to the completion of the program. The most frequently mentioned achievement of the students is to learn all the stages of the research as well as getting acquainted with critical thinking. Conclusions: This research showed that it was realistic to implement research programs for highly motivated students in medical schools with conditions like those in EUFM. The solution of mentor shortage emerged in this study is dependent on the adoption of student research as a national policy. Getting acquainted with the interrogative thinking style, conducting research and making lifelong learning a core value are more important outcomes of research programs than the number of completed projects.

Effectiveness of online multi-level assessment of research methodology in integrated curriculum - Students’ performance in Year 3 of undergraduate Medical Education.

“…Studies suggest that students who had been exposed to research during the entire curriculum showed much more interest in research at a post graduate level and improved the ratio of biomedical researchers. [18][19][20] Although student-led research is increasing gradually, the ratio of overall physician scientists has been decreasing and quality research needs to be emphasized. 21 Our study also showed that 50% of the students scored more than 60% overall in the assessments, reflecting that attention should be paid towards strengthening research teaching at undergraduate level in order to have better researchers at the postgraduate level.…”

Barriers to participation in research as perceived by undergraduate medical students: A cross-sectional study from Qassim.

“…It has been recommended that potential benefits, including academic promotion obtained through working with students should be clearly explained to supervisors. 42 Furthermore, securing a pool of supervisors ready to work with students is paramount for supporting student research. 43 Lack 44,45 It has been suggested that providing a built-in research training component within the curriculum seems to be a more realistic goal, 11 and has already been implemented in several settings including Saudi Arabia.…”

Otolaryngology Residents’ Attitudes, Experiences, and Barriers Regarding the Medical Research

“…During the residency period, mentor should transfer his/her experience in this field, provide guidance at every step, and help with establishing a professional network ( 25 ). Residency students should be assigned an active role in every step of research such as guiding to project, preparing a project, and time management, and this can be achieved via mentorship ( 26 ). Moreover, another problem is the insufficiency of the mentors ( 21 , 25 ).…”