O-44 Research needs of postgraduate Doctor of Medicine students at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad
Author(s):
B Sa, R Maharaj, R Khan, Z Mendoza, J Partap, J Marjadsingh, S Motilal
Year of Presentation:
2023
Objective: Research is compulsory for Doctor of Medicine (DM) postgraduate students at the Faculty of Medical
Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Campus, Trinidad. (FMS) Little is known about the unique
research needs of these graduate students. The objective of
this study was to determine the research needs of DM students at the FMS.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of all 173 enrolled FMS DM students was done using a de novo survey administered over the period September 2022 - January 2023.
Results: Of the 52 participants (response rate 30%), 71 % were female and had a mean age of 32 years. A wide range of specialities were represented with radiology, internal medicine, family medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, pediatrics and anesthesia/critical care accounting for 90% of respondents. The majority of students felt there was a high need for assistance with data analysis (63%), ethics approval (61%), protected research time (60%), manuscript preparation for publication (55%), use of referencing software (53%), report writing (51%), and funding of publication (51%). Although most students (73%) did not have a publication in a pubmed indexed journal at the time of the study, 91% saw the relevance of research to their clinical training. After completion of training, 64% and 63% were likely to publish and undertake research, respectively.
Conclusion: This study ranked the research needs of DM students at the FMS. The priority areas highlighted in this study can be used to guide faculty and programme development.