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The influence of early research experience in medical school on the decision to intercalate and future career in clinical academia: a questionnaire study

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Medical Education, December 2017
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Title
The influence of early research experience in medical school on the decision to intercalate and future career in clinical academia: a questionnaire study
Published in
BMC Medical Education, December 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12909-017-1066-1
Pubmed ID
Authors

Shona E. Boyle, Seonaidh C. Cotton, Phyo Kyaw Myint, Georgina Louise Hold

Abstract

Currently, only one in three UK medical students undertake an intercalated degree. This has often been implicated as a result of financial obstacles or a lack of interest in research due to inadequate exposure to academic medicine. The aims of this study were to determine whether exposure to research early in medical school, through the initiation of an early years clinical academic training programme has a positive influence on the decision-making related to intercalating and a career long interest in research. This study also aims to evaluate the perceived views of the recipients of such a scholarship programme. All previous recipients of the Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship (ASRS) (n = 117) since its inception in 2010 until 2015 were invited via email in June 2016, to take part in the survey. Data were analysed using SPSS for quantitative data and a thematic approach was used to derive themes from free text. The overall response rate was 56% (66/117). Of the respondents, seven received the scholarship twice. Seventy-three percent were still at medical school and 26% were foundation doctors. One respondent indicated that they were currently not in training. Seventy percent of respondents have continued to be involved in research since completing the scholarship. Fifty percent embarked on an intercalated degree following the ASRS. Furthermore, two thirds of the respondents who were undecided about undertaking an intercalated degree before the scholarship, chose to intercalate after completing the programme. ASRS was generally thought of as a positive, influential programme, yet the success of individual ASRS projects was dependent on the allocated supervisors and the resources available for specific projects. Our findings indicate that early research exposure in medical school can provide students with a positive influence on involvement in research and allows students to make an informed decision about embarking on an intercalated degree. We therefore recommend the encouragement of similar programmes in medical schools to promote clinical academia at an early stage for medical students.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 73 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 73 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 14 19%
Professor 7 10%
Student > Master 7 10%
Other 5 7%
Student > Doctoral Student 4 5%
Other 12 16%
Unknown 24 33%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 31 42%
Social Sciences 4 5%
Psychology 3 4%
Nursing and Health Professions 1 1%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 1 1%
Other 8 11%
Unknown 25 34%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 December 2017.
All research outputs
#18,578,649
of 23,011,300 outputs
Outputs from BMC Medical Education
#2,780
of 3,366 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#327,700
of 439,919 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Medical Education
#97
of 102 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,011,300 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 11th percentile – i.e., 11% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,366 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.3. This one is in the 5th percentile – i.e., 5% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 102 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 1st percentile – i.e., 1% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.