Research enrichment: evaluation of structured research in the curriculum for dental medicine students as part of the vertical and horizontal integration of biomedical training and discovery (original) (raw)
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A comprehensive template for inclusion of research in the undergraduate dental curriculum
Health Professions Education, 2019
Problem: Evidence exists that undergraduate students in the health professions benefit from an early introduction to research skills. However, many undergraduate health programs internationally have a minimal inclusion of research methods in their curricula. Most dental curricula focus most of their time and energy on clinical dental training. Increased emphasis on research in dentistry has led many schools to include research in their undergraduate curriculum. This commentary describes the structured inclusion of a constructively aligned research module in the undergraduate curriculum in all Malaysian dental universities. Approach: This commentary reports the structured inclusion of research at one of the private dental universities in Malaysia. Students in a cohort were formed into groups. The dean appoints academic staff members as supervisors to each of the groups in their research work from the selection of the research topic to the presentation of the research work in an external conference. The student scientific conferences provide students with a platform to showcase their research. Outcomes: All the research groups presented their research in an external conference, and two groups could convert their research reports to articles in international peer-reviewed journals. Feedback provided by the students identified many positives and highlighted a few barriers in conducting student research projects. Next steps: The approach taken by the Malaysian dental academic fraternity over the past decade to build and strengthen research in the undergraduate dental curriculum provides a template which other nations can follow.
Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences
Introduction: While most of the institution in our country follow the Flexnerian model of medical education, only a handful of medical colleges have embraced the integrated medical curriculum. Literature on impact of integration on the preclinical disciplines is sparse. This study aims to elucidate the impact of integration on the preclinical disciplines, their content, teaching, learning, and assessment. Methods: This qualitative exploratory study was conducted at the University College of Medicine and Dentistry from July to September 2020. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with the faculty members from pre-clinical disciplines (Physiology, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Forensic Medicine & Community Medicine). The data was recorded, transcribed, coded and thematic analysis was done by using Atlas Ti version 7. Results: The thematic analysis of the transcripts resulted in twenty subthemes, from which five themes emerged. The study revealed that t...
Advances in health sciences education : theory and practice, 2018
Research integrated into undergraduate education is important in order for medical students to understand and value research for later clinical practice. Therefore, attempts are being made to strengthen the integration of research into teaching from the first year onwards. First-year students may interpret attempts made to strengthen research integration differently than intended by teachers. This might be explained by student beliefs about learning and research as well as student perceptions of the learning environment. In general, student perceptions of the learning environment play a pivotal role in fostering student learning outcomes. This study aims to determine whether a curriculum change intended to promote research integration fosters student learning outcomes and student perceptions of research integrated into teaching. To serve this purpose, three subsequent cohorts of first-year students were compared, one before and two after a curriculum change. Learning outcomes of the...
The Research Encounter: An Innovative Course Inclusion that Facilitates Student Engagement
Innovative Higher Education, 2012
The learning and engagement activity we describe was designed to demystify the research culture of the Health Faculty for first year students, and there are implications for practice in other fields. It is founded on the idea of research-based learning, which in its pure form is a respected pedagogical approach but problematic for large cohort (>500) first year students. As an assessment item, students were placed in small groups and were matched with faculty research staff and/or a research area to investigate. The students were surveyed before and after the research encounter; and results show that, among other findings, student engagement with peers and with the faculty were distinct positive outcomes.
This study describes the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a seminar course designed to facilitate discussion and understanding of cross-disciplinary concepts by first-year dental students. Dental and medical schools are implementing integrated curricula in which clinical courses are taught early in the curriculum and the clinical and basic sciences are taught not only concurrently, but in an integrated manner. This first-year course, Integration Seminar, was developed to cross traditional subject and departmental boundaries with the intent of fostering dental care providers who understand the interdependence of the major concepts within these areas. This report describes the development and structure of the Integration Seminar. Furthermore, student perception of this course was determined by evaluating year-end course surveys, and student performance outcomes were measured by comparing student scores on the National Board Dental Examination Part I (NBDE-I) prior to and after the inception of this course. We determined that a substantial majority of students recognized the integrated nature of the course. In addition, NBDE-I scores were significantly higher for the cohorts of students who had participated in the course, although this observation is likely dependent upon many other factors. This report may thus provide a course model for other schools with a similar goal of achieving an integrated curriculum.
Goals, Costs, and Outcomes of a Predoctoral Student Research Program
2000
The aims of this work were to describe the goals and costs of a predoctoral student research program and compare the career choice and school donations of dental alumni who received student research experience to those without the experience. The identity of participants in the student research program was obtained from college records, and outcomes data on the student researchers from the years 1991 to 1994 were obtained with a telephone survey. Survey responses were compared to recent alumni surveys of the classes of 1992 and 1994, mathematically corrected to provide an estimate for non-research participants. A student research program that involves about one-fourth of the class currently costs in excess of $100,000. However, the benefits were found to be considerable. Compared to the class as a whole, after seven to ten years student researchers were 3.5 times more likely to complete specialty training, nearly five times more likely to become full-time faculty members, and 32 percent more likely to be donors.
Alexandria Journal of Medicine (AJM), 2022
Achieving high levels of integration in the basic medical sciences' curricula is challenging. Project-based learning (PtBL) is an inquiry-based learning approach that can be used in multiple educational contexts with various designs. We used PtBL to enhance curricular integration during the pre-clerkship years. The study was done at The Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. We designed interdisciplinary clinically relevant integrated research project tasks. Tasks followed curricular objectives. Students worked in teams to write and deliver project reports. Based on their understanding of the basic medical sciences, they analyzed the assigned tasks and used reasoning to create diagnoses. They related the condition to the disrupted normal structure/functions, suggested/contraindicated specific treatment and preventive plans. A cross-sectional survey was introduced to assess students' perceptions of the learning approach used. Response rate was 52% (n = 694). Students' responses were analyzed. Most students (84.6%) were satisfied by the integrated interdisciplinary PtBL. They (57.9%) preferred substituting the traditional lectures completely by it. Students understood the relation between objectives of disciplines after PtBL completion (mean 3.66, SD ±0.92) higher than before it (mean 3.46, SD ±0.91), (P = 0.000). Students' ranking for the degree of integration between basic/clinical sciences in the PtBL was significantly associated with the developed clinical reasoning rank (P = 0.000). It was also associated with responses supporting the future implementation of the PtBL again (P = 0.002). Various ways of adding PtBL approach to the curricula were suggested. The PtBL can be used as a complementary learning method to elevate the level of integration within a multidisciplinary approach to boost students' learning.
Integrating Research into Dental Student Training: A Global Necessity
Journal of Dental Research, 2013
The integration of research into dental education is necessary to ensure that evidence-based practice reaches the clinical setting and that dentistry remains a scientifically driven health profession. Consequently, dental accreditation standards in the United States and Canada require dental schools to integrate research components into curricula. Organizations (e.g., NIDCR, ADEA, AADR, IADR, and NSRG) provide some opportunities for dental students to experience research. Assessment of the integration of research into dental curricula suggests that US students are interested in learning and utilizing evidence-based practice, but lack adequate time for research participation. Records show limited student involvement in research organizations internationally (i.e., AADR and IADR). Vague accreditation standards and limited research opportunities outside of dental schools may be barriers. We lack an understanding of the status of integration of research into dental curricula internationally, but predict that similar issues exist. We propose that dental institutions consider implementing the following: (1) curriculum components to assess the use of evidence-based practice, (2) faculty and student seminars for discussing evidence-based practice, (3) subsidization of student membership in dental research organizations (e.g., AADR and IADR), and (4) sponsorship of students as institutional representatives at annual research meetings (e.g., IADR, AADR, ADA, and ADEA meetings), with subsequent school-wide dissemination of knowledge attained from attendance.
Impact of a Research Requirement in a Dental School Curriculum
Journal of Dental Education, 2014
With reported shortages in full-time dental educators across the world, any exposure to teaching and/or research during dental school might increase a graduate's interest in an academic career. Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) has a mandatory research experience for all students enrolled in the Doctor of Dental Medicine program. Each year, the graduating class is surveyed about characteristics and outcomes of their research experience. The aim of this study was to use the resulting data for ive years of graduating classes (2008 to 2012) to assess the impact of the research requirement. The results showed that 54 percent of these students had presented their research projects at a forum outside Harvard. Thirty-six percent had had their research published in peer-reviewed journals, 38 percent had manuscripts in preparation or submitted for review, and only 26 percent had no intention to publish their work. Overall, 81.5 percent felt positive about their research experience at HSDM. Only 48 percent said they would deinitely have pursued research even if it was not compulsory, and 36 percent were uncertain. However, 83 percent said they would have some involvement in research during their careers, and only 10 percent were uncertain. Implementing a compulsory research experience may lead to increased numbers of graduates pursuing research in their careers and contributing to the scientiic development of the dental profession.