MEDucate via Science – Bulgaria (AMSB)

Name of the activity: MEDucate via Science

Country/NMO: Bulgaria (AMSB)

Program: Teaching Medical Skills

Contact information: [email protected]

Type of the activity: Capacity Building

General description:

MEDucate via Science is a project that aims to promote research possibilities and careers among medical students. The activity focuses on developing participants’ knowledge and skills related to the scientific field like medical statistics, abstract writing, writing a scientific paper, etc.

Focus area:

Soft Skills for medical practitioners, Research basics for medical practitioners

Problem statement:

MEDucate via Science is an activity that tackles the limited knowledge of medical students about the possibilities of a research career while their medical studies and after they graduate. It also aims to equip the students with the knowledge and the tools needed for an active participation in a research project.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

The target group of the project are medical students with an interest in the field of scientific research, the beneficiaries are the students, the professors and the society.

Objectives and indicators of success:

Objective 1: Increase the knowledge of the participants about the advantages of a research career and motivate them to take part in a research project in the university. Indicator: Number of students that became part of a research team after participating in the activity.
Objective 2: Equip participants with the knowledge and the tools needed for active participation in research project. Indicator: Participants are able to use medical statistics, write an abstract and scientific paper
Objective 3: Equip participants with the soft skills (presentation skills, public speaking, motivation letter writing) Indicator: Participants are more confident to present their work in a scientific conference

Methodology:

The activity took part in one intensive week and included 7 different workshops, one each day. We conducted workshop on medical statistics, abstract writing, writing different types of scientific papers, a general workshop on the possibilities that a research during your medical studies gives you, workshops on soft skills.

Plans for evaluation:

We did a pre- & post-evaluation to measure the knowledge participants gained. Long-term evaluation can be done by evaluating the participation of the students in research projects and different conferences.