Attitudes and Practices Regarding Research among Romanian Medical Undergraduate Students

Objectives: This study focuses on the assessment of attitudes and practices regarding research among undergraduate medical students from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed thorough anonymous questionnaires (May-June 2018) among 510 third- and fifth-year students of Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Results: More than 60% of the third- and fifth-year students declared that they were interested and willing to perform research during medical studies, while more than two-thirds were interested in doing so after graduation. In total, 6% of third-year students and 31% of fifth-year students declared that they had prepared a scientific presentation for a medical congress at least once. Around 9% of the third-year students contributed to the writing of a scientific article and participated in research projects. Among fifth-year students, one-quarter were involved in writing scientific papers, and 21% participated in research projects. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study assesses, for the first time in Romania, the perspectives and behaviors of medical undergraduate students with regard to involvement in research activities. The results show that Romanian medical students value opportunities for conducting research, which encourages institutional initiatives that support their involvement in curricular and extracurricular research activities.