Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.

<h4>Background</h4>Embedding into undergraduate medical programs experiential research curricula, based on holistic theories of education which emphasize participation in the social world, remains uncommon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the journey of undergraduate medical...

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Main Authors: Farah Otaki, Deena AlHashmi, Amar Hassan Khamis, Aida Joseph Azar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280310
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author Farah Otaki
Deena AlHashmi
Amar Hassan Khamis
Aida Joseph Azar
author_facet Farah Otaki
Deena AlHashmi
Amar Hassan Khamis
Aida Joseph Azar
author_sort Farah Otaki
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Embedding into undergraduate medical programs experiential research curricula, based on holistic theories of education which emphasize participation in the social world, remains uncommon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the journey of undergraduate medical students in relation to an innovative compulsory curriculum-based research module, which has a prominent experiential learning component.<h4>Methods</h4>A convergent mixed methods study design was adapted to develop a systemic understanding of the experience of the undergraduate medical students throughout the respective research module. As such, the students' perception of the experience was qualitatively explored using thematic analysis (n = 15). In parallel, the students' performance data were quantitatively analyzed using multi-repeated ANOVA (n = 158). The findings from both types of analyses (i.e., qualitative and quantitative study components) were then mapped onto each using joint display analysis.<h4>Findings</h4>The exploration generated four themes that correspond to sequential steps that the students go through to effectively integrate the scientific research method. These themes include: 1- Attend-Acquire, 2- Accumulate-Assimilate, 3- Apply-Appreciate, and 4-Articulate-Affect. Quantitatively, two distinct clusters of mean Grade Point Average were revealed (p<0.01). Joint display analysis enabled integrating the qualitative and quantitative findings, generating the 8A-Model.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The evidence-driven 8A-Model, generated by this study, highlights that medical students' understanding of the true value of research seems to increase as they progress in the module. They begin expressing appreciation of the significance of the experience when they start implementing what they are learning as part of their own research studies. It is recommended for such a research module, with a firm experiential learning component, to be integral to undergraduate medical programs. This is expected to improve the future physicians' research competences, and in turn add value in terms of quality of care and patient outcomes.
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spelling doaj.art-263bd459a8e943a999dc30052a4fc42b2023-01-25T05:33:02ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01181e028031010.1371/journal.pone.0280310Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.Farah OtakiDeena AlHashmiAmar Hassan KhamisAida Joseph Azar<h4>Background</h4>Embedding into undergraduate medical programs experiential research curricula, based on holistic theories of education which emphasize participation in the social world, remains uncommon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the journey of undergraduate medical students in relation to an innovative compulsory curriculum-based research module, which has a prominent experiential learning component.<h4>Methods</h4>A convergent mixed methods study design was adapted to develop a systemic understanding of the experience of the undergraduate medical students throughout the respective research module. As such, the students' perception of the experience was qualitatively explored using thematic analysis (n = 15). In parallel, the students' performance data were quantitatively analyzed using multi-repeated ANOVA (n = 158). The findings from both types of analyses (i.e., qualitative and quantitative study components) were then mapped onto each using joint display analysis.<h4>Findings</h4>The exploration generated four themes that correspond to sequential steps that the students go through to effectively integrate the scientific research method. These themes include: 1- Attend-Acquire, 2- Accumulate-Assimilate, 3- Apply-Appreciate, and 4-Articulate-Affect. Quantitatively, two distinct clusters of mean Grade Point Average were revealed (p<0.01). Joint display analysis enabled integrating the qualitative and quantitative findings, generating the 8A-Model.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The evidence-driven 8A-Model, generated by this study, highlights that medical students' understanding of the true value of research seems to increase as they progress in the module. They begin expressing appreciation of the significance of the experience when they start implementing what they are learning as part of their own research studies. It is recommended for such a research module, with a firm experiential learning component, to be integral to undergraduate medical programs. This is expected to improve the future physicians' research competences, and in turn add value in terms of quality of care and patient outcomes.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280310
spellingShingle Farah Otaki
Deena AlHashmi
Amar Hassan Khamis
Aida Joseph Azar
Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.
PLoS ONE
title Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.
title_full Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.
title_fullStr Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.
title_short Investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students' perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum-based research module: A convergent mixed methods study launching the 8A-Model.
title_sort investigating the evolution of undergraduate medical students perception and performance in relation to an innovative curriculum based research module a convergent mixed methods study launching the 8a model
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280310
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