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Doctor of Medicine... and Science? Why Research Is Important for the 21st Century Medical Student Xiya Ma
IFMSA - Québec
medical students worldwide | AM2017, Tanzania
xiyama.xm@gmail.com
Let’s face it: despite how awesome our dark blue family is, students participating in IFMSA exchanges generally tend to choose SCOPE over SCORE (or at least in my NMO, that has been the trend for the past few years). This disappointing statistic is however not surprising: except for a few regions such as the United States of America and Canada, most students across the world enter medical school right after high school, which leaves them little time to learn about what research is about compared to students who have completed an university degree. Furthermore, because the medical curriculum is designed to train physicians and not scientists, there is little emphasis put on the basic sciences given the sheer amount of information that medical students need to retain for their future profession. In this context, it is generally difficult for students to see the pertinence to get involved in research, and even more so if the topic is about this pathway or molecule that was mentioned once in their pathology textbook. I want to advocate that having research experience as a medical student is not only beneficial but essential in our future careers as medical professionals. While I do acknowledge that research is extra work and that not necessarily meant to be part of every physician’s practice, there are several advantages to knowing about research methods and basic sciences:
is essential as medical professionals to rely on evidence-based medicine while staying critical about the science we read. Also, most rotations do have some form of journal club or presentation session, so knowing how research works will aid you in preparing for those sessions. 2. Working in research can inspire new medical innovations and help you bring those projects to fruition. In an era of exponentially growing technologies, research is the basis of advancing medicine whether for new molecular discoveries, therapies or methods in medical education. Research teaches how to test out ideas in a rigorous, universal manner that will convince the scientific community of the value of your claims. 3. Getting involved in research projects will give you further insight on medical topics that have been glossed over in class. Research topics are generally very specific, and while it can seem purposeless to learn about something you might never encounter, having extra knowledge is never a negative thing. Who knows, that might be what distinguishes you from other students. I am not advocating for medical students to get a PhD, despite that physicians with such academic backgrounds are a “rare species” in the medical world. However, I do think it is essential for us to get exposure to research in their undergraduate medical education. Now, how about an exchange with SCORE?
1. Having experience in research will help you better assimilate articles you read and provide you skills to criticize methods and findings. Medical schools usually offer little teaching on understanding scientific articles, and simply reading the abstract, as most medical students do, offers meagre information on what the research is about. It
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