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Assessing the Quality and Quantity of Research Among Incoming First-Year Osteopathic Medical Students
Lynch, S. [1]
Byrne, J. [1]
Sharieff, K. [1]

Journal: Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Date: 2023/12, 123(12):Pages: A40-A41. doi: Subito , type of study: cross sectional study

Full text    (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jom-2023-2000/html)

Keywords:

cross sectional study [597]
medical students [402]
osteopathic medicine [1540]
research [318]
USA [1086]

Abstract:

Statement of Significance: Research participation in medical school has become an increasingly important metric used to distinguish residency applicants, partly due to the recent conversion of preclinical board exams to pass/fail grading (1). Despite this emphasis on research, there is little data regarding how best to support osteopathic medical student research. Understanding the prior research experience of first-year students may ultimately help develop strategies to bolster future research participation and outcomes. To comprehensively investigate the extent of participation, the quality and quantity of projects, and specific outcomes of research engagements of incoming first-year osteopathic medical students. Research Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of 381 first-year osteopathic students was conducted in January 2023 at a Florida osteopathic medical school. The anonymous survey contained 31 multiple-choice items, 14 of which allowed a single answer and 17 of which allowed multiple answer selections. The questions aimed to collect information including participant demographic information, research experience, quality and quantity of research, the extent of involvement, research expectations, and the outcomes of projects. Not all participants answered all 31 questions due to conditional logic and branching based on previous answer choices. Before distribution, the survey instrument was validated using student and faculty feedback. The survey was disseminated via email and remained open for four weeks; two email reminders were sent. Data were collected using Google Forms and descriptive statistics were performed using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation. 2022. Microsoft Excel for Mac). By aiming to quantify the extent of research participation of incoming osteopathic students, this study may allow osteopathic educators to further refine strategies to increase research participation among osteopathic medical students. Data Analysis: Among the 381 participants surveyed, 51 completed the survey (response rate of 13.4%). No participants were excluded from the analysis. While 42 (82.3%) participants noted some type of participation in research prior to beginning medical school, just 24 (47.1%) participants ultimately had their research presented at a conference or published a paper. Twenty (39.2%) participants were included as an author for their research presented at a conference and 12 (23.5%) were included as first authors; only 7 (13.7%) participants presented at a national or international conference. Fourteen (27.5%) participants submitted research manuscripts for publication, with 9 (17.6%) ultimately being accepted for publication, and 8 (15.7%) citing first-authorship of their research. Of the 8 students who published a first-author manuscript, 5 participants cited three or more publications and 4 presented at national or international conferences. Of only the people who conducted research, 52.9% of participants conducted at least one project in basic science/laboratory research, with the next most common category being clinical science research. The most common contributions to the research project were participant recruitment and data collection (78.6%) and manuscript preparation (64.3%). This aligns with the most common technical experience gained through research response being data and statistical analysis (73.2%). The most common responses to barriers to research in medical school amongst all participants regardless of research experience included lack of time (86.3%) and not knowing where to start (68.6%). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that a large number of respondents appear to have research experience upon entering medical school, but the quality and quantity of that experience varies. While many students participated in some form of research, most students’ experience seemed confined to a particular aspect of the project such as data collection or data analysis and not to the overall planning and execution of the project. This limited scope of engagement may contribute to why many participants felt that a barrier to participating in research in medical school was “not knowing how to start.” In addition, a minority of the participants entered medical school with significant research experience. These vast differences in research experience and quality highlight the need for more individualized strategies to support osteopathic medical students in research. While low response rate and response bias limit the extrapolation of this data, future studies may aim to improve response rate, further explore barriers to participation, or longitudinally follow a cohort of students and collect data on their research participation throughout medical school. Still, despite the limitations of this study, the respondents tend to view research as valuable and are eager to participate. This study and others like it may help characterize the research background and expectations of incoming osteopathic medical students, leading to improved research participation in medical school.

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