University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
Publication Date
2020-12-18
Document Type
Article Postprint
Disciplines
Medical Education | Research Methods in Life Sciences | Translational Medical Research
Abstract
In the Spring of 2020, we launched a rigor and reproducibility curriculum for medical students in research training programs. This required class consisted of eight, two-hour sessions which transitioned to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. The class was graded as Pass/Fail. Flipped classroom techniques, with multiple hands-on exercises, were developed for first year medical students (MD/PhD (n=9), Clinical and Translational Research Pathway students (n=9)). Four focus groups (n=13 students) and individual interviews with the two instructors were conducted in May 2020. From individual interviews with instructors and focus groups with medical students, the course and its components were favorably reviewed. Students thought the course was novel, important, relevant, and practical - and teaching strategies were effective (e.g., short lectures, interactive small group exercises, project). Most students expressed concerns about lack of time for course prep. Sharper focus and streamlining of prep work may be required. Pre- and post- student self-assessments of rigor and reproducibility competencies showed average post-scores ranging from high/moderate to strong understanding (n=11). We conclude that rigor and reproducibility can be taught to first year medical students in research pathways programs in a highly interactive and remote format.
Keywords
curriculum, reproducibility, rigor
Rights and Permissions
This article is protected by copyright. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and no modifications or adaptations are made.
DOI of Published Version
10.1111/cts.12966
Source
Lapane KL, Dube CE. Rigor and reproducibility training for first year medical students in research pathways. Clin Transl Sci. 2020 Dec 18. doi: 10.1111/cts.12966. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33337579. Link to article on publisher's site
Related Resources
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Clinical and translational science
PubMed ID
33337579
Repository Citation
Lapane KL, Dube CE. (2020). Rigor and reproducibility training for first year medical students in research pathways. University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. https://doi.org/10.1111/cts.12966. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/faculty_pubs/1856
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Included in
Medical Education Commons, Research Methods in Life Sciences Commons, Translational Medical Research Commons