Shah Preya, Sheng Mike, Mankoff David A, Trerotola Scott O, Galperin-Aizenberg Maya, Katz Sharyn I, Barbosa Eduardo J M, Nachiappan Arun C
Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Curr Probl Diagn Radiol. 2019 Sep-Oct;48(5):423-426. doi: 10.1067/j.cpradiol.2018.05.011. Epub 2018 May 24.
To promote opportunities for medical students to gain early exposure to radiology and research, our institution has initiated programs which fund summer radiology research projects for rising second-year medical students. This study assesses the impact of these faculty-mentored summer research experiences on medical student perceptions of radiology and research, in terms of both knowledge and interest.
A voluntary, anonymous survey was administered to students both before and after the summer research period. Both the pre-program survey and post-program survey included 7-point Likert-scale questions (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree) to evaluate students' perceptions about research and students' perceptions about radiology as a specialty. Faculty mentors were sent an analogous post-program survey that included an evaluation of their student's research skills.
The surveys were completed by 9 of 11 students and 10 of 11 mentors. Students' perceived knowledge of radiology as a specialty improved (P = 0.02) between the pre-program survey and post-program survey. Similarly, there was an increase in students' perceived knowledge of research skills (P = 0.02) between the pre-program survey and post-program survey, with student ratings of research skills consistent with those of mentors. High student interest in both radiology and research was maintained over the course of the program.
Our pilot study suggests that summer research experiences can improve knowledge of radiology and research among medical students. Continued evaluation of this annual program will allow us to enhance the benefit to medical students and thereby bolster interest in academic radiology.
为增加医学生早期接触放射学及研究的机会，我校启动了相关项目，为即将升入二年级的医学生的暑期放射学研究项目提供资金支持。本研究评估了这些由教师指导的暑期研究经历对医学生在放射学知识及兴趣和研究知识及兴趣方面认知的影响。
在暑期研究开始前和结束后，对学生进行了一项自愿、匿名的调查。项目前调查和项目后调查均包括7级李克特量表问题（1 = 强烈不同意；7 = 强烈同意），以评估学生对研究的看法以及对放射学作为一门专业的看法。向教师导师发送了一份类似的项目后调查问卷，其中包括对其学生研究技能的评估。
11名学生中的9名和11名导师中的10名完成了调查。在项目前调查和项目后调查之间，学生对放射学作为一门专业的认知有所提高（P = 0.02）。同样，在项目前调查和项目后调查之间，学生对研究技能的认知也有所增加（P = 0.02），学生对研究技能的评分与导师的评分一致。在整个项目过程中，学生对放射学和研究都保持着较高的兴趣。
我们的初步研究表明，暑期研究经历可以提高医学生对放射学和研究的认识。对这个年度项目的持续评估将使我们能够增强对医学生的益处，从而提高对学术放射学的兴趣。
