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Clinical Research Recession: Training Needs Perception Among Medical Students

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Abstract

Clinical research is an integrated part of medical education. There is a noticeable decrease in the number of physician-scientists in developing countries, which is reflected by a decrease in research output and publications from these countries. We conducted a survey aiming to identify the gaps in clinical research training from the perspective of medical students. The results can be used to customize future clinical research trainings. The survey tool was divided into six modules which represent the cornerstones of clinical research based on similar surveys done for the same purpose. For each module, questions covered the perceived knowledge of its aspects and how much relevant the responder thought it was to clinical research. Five hundred one candidates have filled the survey. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) had the highest knowledge score of 2.20/4, while “clinical trials execution” knowledge got the lowest score of 1.64/4. Responders perceived EBM as the most relevant aspect of clinical research (3.39/4), while research ethics received the lowest score 3.18/4. “Clinical trials execution” had the largest gap of a difference calculated as 1.60, while EBM had the lowest gap of 1.20. More attention must be paid to clinical research training for medical students in developing countries. These trainings have to be customized to focus on clinical trial execution, research methodology, and biostatistics. In parallel, awareness campaigns targeted toward the medical community emphasizing the importance of the ethics as an aspect of clinical research should be established.

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Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank research department team members who shared in the conduction of the project: Radwa Nour, Mohamed Kamal, Omneya Hassanain, Nada Elkhateeb, Waffa El-Anor, Rania Labib, Ranin Magdi, and Marwa Tantawy. Moreover, we would like to thank the students (at that time) Moahmed Thabet, Hend Elhossainy, Amr Aboelnaga, and Mohamed Amgad for their efforts during implementation of the research program.

Authors’ Contribution

ASA and SE were responsible for the study concept and design. WMH and MSB were responsible for the analysis and interpretation of data. ASA and WMH were responsible for drafting the work. ASA, WMH, MSB, and SE were responsible for revising and final approval of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. ASA and WMH have equally participated to this paper.

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Author notes

  1. Ahmad S. Alfaar

    Present address: Department of Ophthalmology , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Research, Children Cancer Hospital Egypt, 1 Seket Al-Emam Street – El-Madbah El-Kadeem Yard – El-Saida Zeinab, 57357, Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmad S. Alfaar, Waleed M. Hassan, Mohamed S. Bakry & Sameera Ezzat

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Ahmad S. Alfaar

  3. National Liver Institute, Menoufiya University, Shibin Al Kawm, Egypt

    Sameera Ezzat

Authors
  1. Ahmad S. Alfaar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmad S. Alfaar.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Electronic supplementary material

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Supplementary table 1

Raw results numbers and percentages for each question regarding how students perceive their knowledge in each aspect within each module (DOC 63 kb)

Supplementary table 2

Raw results for how much do students think that each aspect is relevant to clinical research. (DOC 65 kb)

Supplementary table 3

Results for Mann-Whitney U tests and p values for difference between undergraduates and graduates. (DOC 32 kb)

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Alfaar, A.S., Hassan, W.M., Bakry, M.S. et al. Clinical Research Recession: Training Needs Perception Among Medical Students. J Canc Educ 32, 728–733 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-0995-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-0995-4

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