Hart Joanne, Collison Adam, Cornwall Jon, Edmiston Natalie, Eley Di, Hird Kathryn, Hu Wendy, Leopardi Eleonora, Metusela Christine, Mogensen Lise, Mullan Judy, Pike Shannon, Preda Veronica, Uebel Kerry, Wallace Megan, Bilszta Justin
School of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 May 21;25(1):740. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-07339-9.
Research training is vital to medical education, providing students with essential skills for their future evidence-based practice. Most medical programs worldwide include opportunities for students to implement projects. However, gaps remain in understanding how research training is delivered, integrated and assessed with project completion, and little data exists on the range of project types and topics. This study aims to document research training curricula across Australian and New Zealand medical schools and explore the types of projects undertaken by students.
An online survey of the 23 Australian and New Zealand medical school research training programs was undertaken. The survey recorded details about research training curriculum, project types and topics investigated. The titles of medical student projects completed in 2023 were collected and categorised using standard Australian Bureau of Statistics field of research codes and national health priority areas. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.
Eighteen medical programs responded to the survey (18/23, 78%). The survey responses identified various designs for research training curriculum, including coursework only, and combinations of coursework and different project options. Projects were mandatory in half the programs. Some programs facilitated an Honours year or intercalated higher degree by research. Projects were either integrated into coursework or stand alone, with 78% providing scheduled time to conduct the projects. The titles of 2024 medical student projects completed in 2023 were provided by 17 of the 18 participating medical schools. The research areas covered were broad, with most focusing on biomedical and clinical sciences (69%) or health sciences (20%). Additionally, 34% of the projects addressed Australian National Health Priority areas, with cancer control (28%) and mental health (26%) the most common topics.
This study provides a comprehensive overview of the current approaches to research training across medical programs in Australia and New Zealand. It highlights the diverse approaches to this aspect of medical education curriculum and the range of project types and topics undertaken by medical students. The findings provide valuable insights for medical curriculum developers and policymakers and can be used to inform research training practices and outcomes.
研究培训对医学教育至关重要，为学生提供未来循证实践所需的基本技能。全球大多数医学课程都为学生提供了实施项目的机会。然而，在理解研究培训如何与项目完成相结合进行交付、整合和评估方面仍存在差距，并且关于项目类型和主题范围的数据很少。本研究旨在记录澳大利亚和新西兰医学院校的研究培训课程，并探索学生所开展项目的类型。
对澳大利亚和新西兰的23所医学院校的研究培训项目进行了在线调查。该调查记录了有关研究培训课程、项目类型和所调查主题的详细信息。收集了2023年完成的医学生项目的标题，并使用澳大利亚统计局标准研究领域代码和国家卫生重点领域进行分类。使用描述性统计方法对数据进行分析。
18个医学项目回复了调查（18/23，78%）。调查回复确定了研究培训课程的各种设计，包括仅课程作业，以及课程作业与不同项目选项的组合。一半的项目是强制性的。一些项目为学生提供了攻读荣誉学位或通过研究获得插班更高学位的机会。项目要么整合到课程作业中，要么独立设置，78%的项目提供了开展项目的预定时间。18所参与调查的医学院校中有17所提供了2023年完成的2024年医学生项目的标题。所涵盖的研究领域广泛，大多数集中在生物医学和临床科学（69%）或健康科学（20%）。此外，34%的项目涉及澳大利亚国家卫生重点领域，癌症控制（28%）和心理健康（26%）是最常见的主题。
本研究全面概述了澳大利亚和新西兰医学课程中当前的研究培训方法。它突出了医学教育课程这一方面的多样化方法以及医学生所开展项目的类型和主题范围。这些发现为医学课程开发者和政策制定者提供了有价值的见解，并可用于指导研究培训实践和成果。
