Khajuria A, Cheng K, Levy J
A Khajuria, Department of Surgery and Cancer, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK. Email:
J R Coll Physicians Edinb. 2017 Mar;47(1):65-69. doi: 10.4997/JRCPE.2017.115.
Background Academic medicine is crucial for healthcare advancement. However, recruitment of junior doctors into academia remains an area of concern globally. In the UK, a national integrated clinical academic pathway was developed to address these issues, with the Academic Foundation Programme as the 'first opportunity for research'. We aimed to evaluate whether a focused course on academic medicine could enhance knowledge, confidence and preparedness of candidates wishing to apply for an academic programme. Methods UK medical students attended a national course conducted by current UK Academic Foundation Programme doctors that comprised lectures on academic medicine and various aspects of the Academic Foundation Programme. An online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted with participants rating measures including knowledge, preparedness and confidence related to Academic Foundation Programme applications. Outcomes were measured using Likert scales (1=low; 5=high). Results In total, 103 out of 155 attendees from 11 different UK medical schools responded to the survey (66% response rate). Pre and post-course data showed increase in participants' knowledge (median score 2 vs 4, p < 0.0001), understanding of the application process (median score 2 vs 4, p < 0.0001), confidence (median score 2 vs 4, p < 0.0001) and preparedness (median score 2 vs 4, p < 0.0001) in applying for the Academic Foundation Programme. Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study in the available literature that demonstrates a focused course on academic medicine may enhance UK medical students' knowledge, confidence and preparedness in applying for a clinical academic programme. Further research will ascertain whether such courses can augment trainee numbers undertaking and remaining within academic medicine.
背景 学术医学对医疗保健的进步至关重要。然而，初级医生进入学术界的招聘问题在全球范围内仍是一个令人担忧的领域。在英国，制定了一条全国性的综合临床学术途径来解决这些问题，学术基础课程是“首次研究机会”。我们旨在评估一门专注于学术医学的课程是否能增强希望申请学术项目的候选人的知识、信心和准备程度。方法 英国医学生参加了由现任英国学术基础课程医生举办的全国性课程，该课程包括学术医学讲座以及学术基础课程的各个方面。开展了一项基于在线问卷的横断面研究，让参与者对包括与学术基础课程申请相关的知识、准备程度和信心等指标进行评分。结果采用李克特量表（1 = 低；5 = 高）进行衡量。结果 来自英国11所不同医学院校的155名参与者中，共有103人回复了调查（回复率66%）。课程前后的数据显示，参与者在申请学术基础课程方面的知识（中位数得分从2提高到4，p < 0.0001）、对申请流程的理解（中位数得分从2提高到4，p < 0.0001）、信心（中位数得分从2提高到4，p < 0.0001）和准备程度（中位数得分从2提高到4，p < 0.0001）均有所提高。结论 据我们所知，这是现有文献中第一项表明专注于学术医学的课程可能会增强英国医学生申请临床学术项目的知识、信心和准备程度的研究。进一步的研究将确定此类课程是否能增加从事并留在学术医学领域的受训人员数量。
