Clinical researchers: The relationship between the final degree project and future prospects for developing research tasks in the clinical setting

Abstract

Introduction

Clinical research is vital for improving individuals' quality of life, yet many medical students find it complex and challenging. Therefore, it is essential to introduce research training programs early in undergraduate medical education to help students develop basic research skills. One example is the final degree project (FDP), which can be either experimental/research-based or a systematic review/clinical protocol. This study investigates medical students' perceptions of research FDPs based on effort and difficulty, as well as the associations between FDP-type election and the graduates' future interest in research.

Methods

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 87 medical graduates from Jaume I University of Castellon. Data were collected through surveys, and both descriptive and inferential analyses were performed.

Results

A significant relationship was found between research in the graduates' routine and the intention to pursue a doctoral thesis, as well as between the graduates' choice of FDP topic as medical students (experimental or research-based vs. systematic review or clinical protocol) and future engagement in a doctoral thesis. As this is an observational study, we cannot establish causality in this relationship. No significant associations were found between routine research and hospital size, gender, or career motivation, except for a potential significance in the relationship between FDP topic choice and medical specialty.

Conclusions

Our main findings suggest that medical graduates' perceptions of the complexity of research FDPs depend on their prior research experience. Therefore, it is crucial to provide more training in this area during undergraduate programs to prevent a lack of training from becoming a barrier to pursuing a research career.