Medicine and research are inevitably linked, since a better knowledge of human pathophysiology drives therapeutic advances and allows an appropriate bench-to-bedside translation of results (1). The progress of medicine depends fundamentally on the training and productivity of scientists engaged in health sciences research. Research training is essential during medical studies, as the involvement of medical scientists in the field of health research represents a valuable contribution since ultimately physician-scientists are necessary to link basic science research and clinical practice successfully (2). Scientific research plays a crucial role in the education of medical students by providing them with up-to-date knowledge, fostering critical and analytical skills, developing communication skills, and laying the foundation for a future career in medical research, ensuring high quality, evidence-based medical care for patients (1, 3). On the other side, physicians who pursue mainly clinical work require some scientific background to provide the best care, based on the recent research findings and current state of the art (2). In fact, the majority of medical professors attending the 26th Annual Conference of the International Association of Medical Science Educators indicated that they believed scientific education is critical to the development of doctors (4).

Currently, educational institutions in Europe, including the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain, provide students with formal and informal opportunities to engage in research and to reduce the likelihood of research misconduct (5). The inclusion of specific courses as educational campaigns in curriculum can be an effective tool to significantly increase the level of awareness among medical students (6). In this way, the UGR has included the compulsory subject “Fundamentals of Health Research and Bioethics” in the curriculum of the Degree in Medicine. The ultimate benefit of these undergraduate experiences may be the promotion of research quality and long-term commitment to good research practices (7). However, it is unclear to what extent undergraduate research is meaningful to students in terms of providing productive and rewarding research experiences (8).

Investigating students’ views on research during medical degree and their expectations regarding their future research careers could help to identify factors that may constitute an effective research curriculum and shed light on whether research is actually promoted in the classroom, as well as identifying the critical points that limit the interest of medical students. The main objective of the present study was to know the perceptions of medical students about scientific research during their university studies as well as following graduation.

This study provides a unique insight into the changing trends in the scientific vocations of medical students during their university education.

Nowadays, the interest of medical students in scientific research is controversial. Most studies claim that interest in undergraduate research activities has grown (Ferreira amorim (9)), as well as that the number of papers authored by medical students has increased in recent years (10). Furthermore, in the study of Fouad et al., students highly cited engagement to research as one of the main reasons for doing international training (11). Controversially, other studies point out that the status of undergraduate research is unsatisfactory and less static (12), that the number of physician scientists has declined over the past two decades (13) and that despite the increase in scientific publications, most of these have not been cited (10).

Our results show that medical students are aware that research plays an essential role in medical advancement. About 75.0% of the surveyed students think that it would be interesting to participate in research projects during the university degree, and about 50.0% that the EDP should be a research project. Therefore, medical students showed interest in getting involved in research during undergraduate studies, with slightly more 2nd year students being interested in this task.

Medical professors promote the inclusion of research into medical students training in order to provide them with up-to-date knowledge, foster critical and analytical skills, develop communication skills and lay the foundation for a future career in medical research. However, from the students’ point of view, they do not feel that they are sufficiently encouraged to engage in scientific research, especially students in 4th and 6th course. This fact could be related to students’ lack of awareness of opportunities to access research, the second major barrier voted by students in our survey. Perhaps there is a stronger focus on clinical theory than on research, as well as a lack of motivation for research in the classrooms. This issue can be achieved through mentoring programs, early exposure to research, integration of research into the curriculum, and promotion of appropriate incentives and recognition. In this way, more medical students could be encouraged to participate in research activities.

Regarding to the professional future, most of the students surveyed showed no interest in pursuing a doctoral thesis, especially students in their 4th and 6th year of course. These are students with superior clinical knowledge, who have taken clinical subjects, which could explain their special interest in learning and dedicating themselves to clinical practice instead of scientific research. However, medicine and research should not be seen as different paths, as these areas that should be combined and have a common goal: patients’ care improvement and advance in clinical outcomes.

The participation of medical students in scientific research activities was very scarce. Medical student participation in research is associated with an improvement in scientific productivity, more informed career choices and improved interest and attitudes towards research (14). However, around 70.0% of the medical students surveyed were not aware of and had not participated in the European Science Week (15), nor in the European Researchers’ Night (16), two of the most widespread scientific events in Europe. Encouraging medical students to get involved in scientific events can enhance their curriculum, open collaboration paths and networking, broaden their knowledge and keep them updated.

Concerning the main barriers for research, most students thought that the most important ones were the lack funding and opportunities. This is consistent with other studies that have reported limited resources and lack of funding as blockades to research involvement (2, 17, 18). Lack of awareness of opportunities was also consistent with a previous study (17, 19). In this sense, scientific committees, conferences, and science outreach events are essential sources of relevant scientific information where students could approach opportunities. In addition, strategies such as Scholarly Research Projects or Scholarly Research Concentrations could help students target their scientific interests.

Surprisingly, more 2nd year students believe they have the skills to engage in research as opposed to 4th and 6th year students, likely because during the medical degree years they have oriented their training towards clinical subjects. Previous studies also describe a decline in interest in participation in scientific research at higher levels of medical school (20). Almost ¼ of the student thought that the lack of leisure time and the delay in practicing as a physician were also barriers for research.

Students’ attitudes toward health research decreased with increasing years of medical school training. A greater number of 2nd year students consider that reading publications is important for their training and that it improves teamwork skills. In addition, 4th and 6th year students are more frustrated reading scientific articles compared to 2nd year medical students. This idea may be closely related to the model of medical studies in Europe, where students, once they have completed their basic studies, sit a competitive entrance examination and are ranked according to their marks. Only the students with the best marks will be able to access medical studies. The duration of medical careers in Europe is typically 6 years with no gap years, with the first 2–3 years focusing on basic sciences and medical theory. As they progress through their studies, students begin to participate in clinical experiences in hospitals. Probably due to this design, 4th and 6th year students feel more detached from research than students starting their medical studies.

In addition, respondents showed self-perceived skills in reading and understanding scientific articles, but did not know how to use tools to adequately reference them. Mandatory participation in research activities and scientifically oriented courses improve students’ knowledge and attitudes towards research (21) and could change students’ perceptions towards research (22). Multiple studies have shown that research methodology courses early in the curriculum can increase students’ interest in pursuing a research career (23). Thus, there is an urgent need to include mentoring programs in medical studies, expand research methodology courses, and offer students the opportunity to do research. Motivation systems, such as scholarships and international exchanges, should be offered to those conducting high-quality research to extend their opportunities in the professional future. Attention should also be given to students who are not interested in research to provide them with the basics of methodology and scientific publishing that could be useful in their clinical career.

Medical students show a good perception about the need for research but scarce interest in participating in an investigation. Moreover, students that had taken clinical subjects (4th and 6th year students) were less attracted to investigate than those that had not taken clinical subjects (2nd year students). A lack of encouragement on research during their degree or a tendency to separate research from clinical practice could be the main reasons. Measures should be taken to improve students’ interest in research during their university studies.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

This study were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements and was approved by the Committee on Ethics in Human Research UGR (CEIH-UGR) under the number 3138/CEIH/2023, dated 30 January 2023. The nature of the study was explained to all participants, who agreed to participate by giving their written electronic consent. The measurements were non-invasive, and the confidentiality of participants’ data was strictly preserved.

RS-d: Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. MQ-V: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. AU-R: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review & editing. AB-E: Project administration, Resources, Validation, Writing – review & editing. TM-V: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Software, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – review & editing. SA-S: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – review & editing.