Using an Extracurricular Honors Program to Engage Future Physicians Into Scientific Research in Early Stages of Medical Training
Using an Extracurricular Honors Program to Engage Future Physicians Into Scientific Research in Early Stages of Medical Training
Belinda W. C. Ommering 0 1 2 3
Peter J. van den Elsen 0 1 2 3
Jolanda van der Zee 0 1 2 3
Carolina R. Jost 0 1 2 3
Friedo W. Dekker 0 1 2 3
0 Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden , the Netherlands
1 Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden , the Netherlands
2 Center for Innovation in Medical Education, Leiden University Medical Center , Zone V7-P, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden , the Netherlands
3 Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden , the Netherlands
Physician-scientists are urgently needed to make progress in the dynamic world of medical healthcare. Currently, there is a worldwide shortage in physicians pursuing a scientific career. Actively engaging students in research in early stages of medical training could help to direct students towards a scientific career and contribute to creating the next generation of physicianscientists. Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) implemented an extracurricular Honors program with a fundamental orientation towards research. The program starts in the second year of medical training and is comprised of four different tracks in order to attract multiple types of students with different interests. All four tracks offer students scholarly experiences, but differ in content and amount of provided structure. The LUMC Honors program has a clear goal to develop future physician-scientists, and combined with its unique multiple-track model, the program accommodates about 70 students (25%) each year. The number of students in the program has grown and students' experiences are positive.
Honors; Extracurricular research program; Physician-scientists; Scholarly concentration
Background
The Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists
(CanMEDS) distinguishes being able to use and being able
to conduct research as two core competencies of a scholar [
1
].
A common belief in the medical field is that all physicians
should be able to use research, which is important in forming
evidence-based decisions and making a grounded diagnosis
[
2–5
]. In order to integrate scientific knowledge in clinical
decisions and to ensure that patients receive the best
possible healthcare, physicians should be aware of the latest
*
developments in medicine. Being able to critically appraise
scientific literature is key in the process of using research in
daily clinical practice [6].
However, besides all physicians using research, physicians
who actually conduct research are needed as well. These
physicians are needed because it is important to create new
knowledge to make progress in the demanding world of medical
healthcare [
3, 4, 6, 7
]. Physicians combining clinical work
with doing research in the medical context are called
physician-scientists. Physician-scientists offer an opportunity to
bridge the gap between science and clinical practice [
8–10
].
They have the opportunity to identify clinical problems in
daily practice, which can be translated into research questions
and designs [
11
]. Subsequently, physician-scientists can
translate research outcomes into clinical practice [
12
].
Currently, there is a global shortage in the number of
physician-scientists, with too few physicians pursuing a scientific
career [
2, 8, 10, 13, 14
]. A decline in interest for research
among physicians in Canada, the USA, and Europe has been
documented [2]. How physicians can be directed towards a
scientific career is still a topic of debate, although early
engagement of medical students in research is mentioned as a
possible solution [
2, 6, 7, 15–18
]. Engaging students in
research in early stages of medical education could help to
identify a possible scientific career path for these future
physicians, as it could trigger enthusiasm and motivation for
doing research [
4
]. This view is shared internationally, as is
reflected in the growing amount of curricular and
extracurricular courses to engage students in research [
2, 19
].
Some medical schools have designed and implemented
mandatory courses in the curriculum with the goal to get
students acquainted with research, for instance Duke University
implemented a mandatory period of research into the third
year of the medical curriculum, and Stanford University
integrated mandatory research experiences for medical students
through all years of medical training [
19, 20
]. Leiden
University Medical Center (LUMC) implemented a
curriculum change in 2012, integrating mandatory research courses
in undergraduate medical training with the purpose to engage
students in research in early phases of medical training by
providing them with active learning experiences [21].
Besides mandatory courses in the curriculum, a trend is
evolving in which medical schools design and (...truncated)