Aim:

To present the experience of an initiation in to research for medical students through optional courses: ¿Research Projects of Degree? (1, 2, and 3).

Subjects and methods:

Medical students in their second, third, and fourth year from the academic years 2011-2012 to 2017-2018, enrolled consecutively in the subjects: ¿Projects 1?, identification of the topic, documentation and elaboration of hypotheses and objectives; ¿Projects 2?, methodological design and acquisition of data; and ¿Projects 3?, scientific disclosure. Each group, of 2-4 students, did a research project under the supervision of a tutor; the research project was presented orally and on paper. In ¿Projects 3?, students made a poster about the activities performed during the three courses, posters were shown in a monographic exhibition. Evaluation of student satisfaction was carried out through a survey.

Results:

A total of 546 students started the experience in ¿Projects 1?, of which 43.9% completed it. The number of participating tutors was 83, addressing 195 research topics, of which 59% were clinical research, 31% fundamental research and 10% were termed others. The scores obtained in these courses were higher than 9 points out of 10. The survey highlights the important role of advisers and the training potential of the activity.

Conclusion:

The design of the course allows the students to be in contact with different aspects of the biomedical research processes. Students considered the activity rewarding, useful, and appropriate to their training as a physician.

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