An Assessment of the Perception Regarding Medical Research among Final Year Medical Students

In recent years, in medicine and education field, a paradigm shift has been noticed from experiencebased
to evidence-based practice. Evidence-based medical practice is based on research, which
translates new knowledge into powerful tools for prevention and treatment of disease. Increase in
clinical and biomedical research is essential for continuing advances in health care and develop new
initiatives. All the medical students of Final Year M.B.B.S. were selected for the study. Out of 290
students, 281 give their consent for study. So the total number of study subjects were 281. The first
open section sought information regarding students age, gender, and residence. Section two
comprised of close-ended questions focusing on students knowledge and attitude towards research.
The last section was also close-ended and aimed to identify barriers towards research as perceived
by the students. Most of the students were in the age group of 24-26 yrs (61.57%). Most of the
students were female (59.43%). Medical research journal reading habit was found in 39.86%
students. Interestingly, majority (45.91%) felt the need for reading journals as part of curriculum only.
37.01% students reading journals out of interest. Overall information regarding Medline indexed
medical research journals was very poor. Only 13.17% students were currently part of any ongoing
research project and only 4.6% had any manuscript published or anticipated under name at the time
of conduct of the study. 69.40% students desired research as part of basic medical education.
Students give lack of research training (20.28%) as principal barrier towards medical research. The
present study showed that medical students have positive attitudes towards research despite poor
knowledge and awareness of research methods and scientific communication. Thus, there is an
urgent need to emphasize the importance of research and to undertake professional programs
preparing students as well as supervisors for this task Evolving medical science necessitates
research training to be considered as an essential and fundamental component, ‘an underlying
principle’, in an innovative undergraduate medical curriculum .