Integrating research methodology and training into the undergraduate medical curriculum – students’ perspectives of Jeddah and Rabigh Medical Colleges, King Abdulaziz University, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Research training is essential in a modern undergraduate medical curriculum. There is an steadily growing trend towards integrating scientific research training into undergraduate medical education. The importance and compulsoriness of this trend has been highlighted at the Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. Objectives: To assess the need for adding research methodology to the curriculum and to determine the level of interest in medical research in a group of Saudi medical students at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in King Abdulaziz University. A total of 512 randomly selected medical students were enrolled in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were completed during February 2014. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Results: Of 502 students, 58.4% were male, mean age (21.74+1.74 years). Most of the participants (91%) were interested in medical research. Most of the participants agreed on adding research methodology to the curriculum (92%). The vast majority of students (92%) agreed that they are involved in research because they believe it will facilitate their admission into a postgraduate training programme. Conclusions: Medical students appreciate the importance and benefits of undergraduate research. It is highly recommended to integrate formal research training into undergraduate medical curricula and to provide a diversity of high-quality well-mentored undergraduate research opportunities.