Facilitating undergraduate research in Germany: experiences from establishing a research project module as part of the international BM(EU) programme

Abstract

Undergraduate research is of interest to medical educators and policy makers alike. It is thought to play an important role in stemming the decline in those choosing clinical academic careers and is expected to assist in the mainstreaming of evidence-based medicine. Medical schools in the US, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Norway and Germany – among others – are seeking to expose their students to research. However, organisationally, setting up research opportunities for large numbers of students can be extremely challenging. Moreover, it involves the balancing of research development and research participation against increasingly crowded medical curricula. Finally, there are practical aspects to consider, such as students’ preparedness, faculty development and external aspects such as ever more elaborate (and lengthy) ethics approvals processes.
Since the inception of the medical school at Southampton (UK) in 1971, all undergraduate medical students on the five year programme have participated in a research project and this is an important distinctor within the national and international contexts. In 2013, the University of Southampton started a new international undergraduate programme – the BM(EU) in collaboration with a German Healthcare provider, Gesundheit Nordhessen (GNH). We will be reporting on our experiences of and lessons learned from establishing the research module in Germany, which has been completed by three cohorts (n=62) to date. The presentation will include curricular aspects such as learning outcomes and assessment methods as well as findings from the student evaluation data.

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ORCID for Susan Wilson: orcid.org/0000-0003-1305-8271

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