Pierre Matthieu, Miklavcic Martina, Margulan Marc, Asfura Javier Shafick
International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA), Copenhagen, Denmark.
Faculty of Medicine, Free University of Brussels (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Jette, Brussels, Belgium.
Med Sci Educ. 2022 Apr 4;32(2):495-502. doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01542-9. eCollection 2022 Apr.
Research is a key component of medical practice, with involvement of medical students crucial for the future of healthcare. A major limitation for medical students is the lack of exposure to research education and projects. The purpose of this study was to analyse the exposure of medical students worldwide to research education and opportunities and their satisfaction with research in their curriculum and compare results between regions.
The International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), through its Research Standing Committee, developed a questionnaire to understand the current situation worldwide regarding medical students' access to research and research education in the medical curriculum. Students from all years from across the five regions of the IFMSA were eligible.
A total of 619 responses representing 290 universities and 88 countries were received. Although 97.6% of medical students believed that research should be approached in their education, only 19.6% considered it was sufficiently addressed. Regarding education, only 36% of all respondents reported having specific mandatory research courses, with higher percentages in the Asia-Pacific and European countries. Even though an association between research opportunities and research participation was found, only 30% of students reported having specific places in research teams. Lastly, 39.3% had never participated in a research project.
Research education is a vital component of medical education, and medical students consider its inclusion as essential for their education. However, not enough emphasis on research education is placed across the globe, with most students seeking research opportunities to train themselves outside the formal curriculum.
研究是医学实践的关键组成部分，医学生的参与对医疗保健的未来至关重要。医学生面临的一个主要限制是缺乏研究教育和项目的接触机会。本研究的目的是分析全球医学生接受研究教育和机会的情况，以及他们对课程中研究内容的满意度，并比较各地区的结果。
国际医学生协会联合会（IFMSA）通过其研究常务委员会编制了一份问卷，以了解全球医学生在医学课程中获得研究和研究教育的现状。IFMSA五个地区各年级的学生均符合条件。
共收到来自290所大学和88个国家的619份回复。尽管97.6%的医学生认为在他们的教育中应该涉及研究，但只有19.6%的学生认为研究得到了充分的关注。在教育方面，所有受访者中只有36%报告有特定的必修研究课程，亚太地区和欧洲国家的比例更高。尽管发现研究机会与研究参与之间存在关联，但只有30%的学生报告在研究团队中有特定的岗位。最后，39.3%的学生从未参与过研究项目。
研究教育是医学教育的重要组成部分，医学生认为将其纳入教育对他们至关重要。然而，全球对研究教育的重视程度不够，大多数学生寻求在正规课程之外的研究机会来自我培训。
