Undergraduate medical students research skills enhancement – Health research project

Abstract

Background: Evidence-based medicine has been recognized as a core competency for the new generation of medical doctors. Under the coordination of the School of Public Health, all Year 3 MBBS students from Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong undertake a year long health research project, in which they acquire research skills, enhance peer to peer skills, consolidate epidemiological and statistical learning and apply problem-based and evidence-based teaching. Summary of work: Each group of students (n=10) develops a research protocol on a locally relevant health or health care topic; obtains ethics approval; recruits subjects; collects data; conducts data analysis and presents their findings in written and oral form. Student groups work independently with backup from project group tutors, statistical advisors as well as online WebCT support. Conclusions: Students report high levels of satisfaction with the learning process. They produce high quality research outputs with one project per year published in international peer reviewed journals. Take-home messages: Over the past 15 years, the health research project as an integrated part of the undergraduate curriculum has successfully engaged young medical students in health research enhancing their critical thinking skills and research knowledge.