Letter to the Editor

Peer Research Mentoring for Medical Students in India

Devansh Lalwani ¹, Archit Shirpurkar ¹, Ishita Lanjewar ¹, Praatik Parekh ¹, Manav Agrawal ¹, Kshitij Sonawale ¹, Aadya Deshpande ¹

¹Seth GSMC & KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India

Dear Editor,

In Indian undergraduate medical education, there is a paucity of structured research training, difficulty in finding mentors, and limited access to necessary resources. These challenges lead to limited interest and lack of active involvement in research.^1,2

To address this, our research interest group initiated an educational program “Med Shark Tank,” (inspired by the reality television show), which aimed to inspire research interest by providing a platform for medical undergraduates to learn about research methodology using peer mentors.³

The methodology involved mentor selection based on academic research experience, mentee allocation through a random process, and a 10-day structured curriculum covering key areas of research. The program's primary objective was to instill foundational concepts and critical thinking, culminating in mentee groups presenting well-defined research questions to a panel of judges.

Research questions were judged based on needs analysis, clarity of research question, novelty, impact, research methodology, feasibility, and response to follow-up questions. The top five abstracts from the screening round advanced to the final round, where each team presented their research ideas for 10 minutes, addressing various criteria.

The results saw diverse and impactful research topics, with the winning project focusing on the effect of perinatal factors on the risk of postpartum depression in mothers. To incentivize participation, the program offered rewards, including coverage of ethical committee fees as first prize.

Participant feedback was highly positive, with appreciation given for the structure, relevance, and effectiveness of the program. The program also increased self-reported research knowledge and heightened interest in research. Quality of mentoring was also highly rated.

The peer mentorship program is a promising model for cultivating research skills in undergraduates. Its comprehensive approach—which includes handson practice, and competition—effectively engages participants, encouraging the pursuit of active research with its unique structure involving presentation (with feedback of a preliminary idea) to judges, who potentially could serve as principal investigators.

Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the initiative's lasting impact on academic and career paths. The model is limited by a condensed timeline for idea generation and presentation; a longer timeline would perhaps enhance participant understanding, needs analysis, and proposal refinement.

The proposed model is a successfully piloted starting point, hopefully inspiring additional research exploring the implementation of near-peer discussions throughout the entire medical research process.

1. Abu-Zaid A, Alkattan K. Integration of scientific research training into undergraduate medical education: a reminder call. Med Educ Online. 2013;18:22832. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v18i0.22832

2. Mehta MD, Patharkar J, Dass E. Knowledge, attitude and practice of research among undergraduate medical students in India. JCDR. 2020;14(12):FC12. Available from: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2020/47318.14374

3. Harrison CH, Elmansouri A, Parton W, et al. The Efficacy of Frontline Near-Peer Teaching in a Modern Medical Curriculum. Anat Sci Educ. 2019 May;12(3):236–244. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1827. PMID: 30332529.

© Education for Health.

Education for Health | Volume 37, No. 1, January-March 2024

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