Medical education for undergraduate research: Proposals from the experience of two national student conferences of the Universidad de Valparaíso

Estudios originales

Published on 30 de julio de 2024 | http://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2024.06.2959

Medical education for undergraduate research: Proposals from the experience of two national student conferences of the Universidad de Valparaíso

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Recommendations for the promotion of research during medical careers.

Area	Proposal
Transversal and coordinated research training for each training cycle	Integrate research training in a transversal and coordinated manner during the course of their studies and not as isolated subjects, with a practical approach oriented to developing competencies. For example:First cycle (1st and 2nd year): period of basic science and public health courses.Conducting appropriate bibliographic searches, participating in preclinical studies, developing community-based public health work oriented according to the main methodological designs of clinical and population epidemiology, and developing research with qualitative methodology.
	Second cycle (3rd to 5th year): introduction to clinical subjects and formal courses in scientific research methodology and evidence-based health.Application of the theoretical knowledge of both disciplines in the formulation and execution of a research project coordinated with a clinical and/or medical specialty course.
	Third cycle (6th and 7th year): internship or professional practice period.Continuous and structured discussion and presentation of clinical cases and continuation of the execution of the research project presented in the second cycle.
Graduation requirements and incentives for medical specialties competition	Mandatory, as a graduation requirement, to participate in the publication of research work developed during undergraduate studies and its presentation at a scientific congress.Extend the incentives at the ministerial level for applying to medical specialties competitions, such as benefiting those who participate in publications of studies of greater methodological complexity or those published in journals of greater impact.
Institutional support	Promote and ensure spaces for participation in these activities. It is suggested that teachers be given protected time in their academic units to develop research functions and that they actively incorporate the student body.
Liaison between researchers and students	Facilitate the link between researchers and students from the early stages of their careers through conferences, allowing students to get to know the different centers, laboratories, and ongoing research projects in medical disciplines and related sciences. Medical student scientific societies and academies can play an essential role in this, acting as intermediaries.
Inclusion of students in competitive projects and funds	Encourage formal initiatives for students with greater interest in research projects, such as teaching assistant positions or elective courses. Also, promote as a policy of the different academic units internal competitions of competitive funds for research led by students and supervised by academics of the unit.

Source, Prepared by the authors based on the study results.