The effect of intercalated degrees on student involvement in academic medicine

Dear Sir

As highlighted in your recently published Twelve Tips article on how to encourage student engagement in academic medicine (McLean et al. 2013), the decline in the number of clinicians involved in clinical academia is a significant issue both in the UK and worldwide. An overlap between clinical and academic medicine is key to reduce the divide between research and care delivered to patients. As the decline in overall numbers of clinical academics is reflected by a decline in the number of young doctors entering this field, it is important to generate interest in academic medicine among undergraduates. Getting students involved in research could help reverse this trend. One important question is how this increased involvement can be achieved. We therefore conducted a survey in February 2013 to ascertain the effect of taking an intercalated degree on student involvement in research and audit activities, and also to determine whether students with an intercalated degree were more likely to apply for postgraduate academic training.

We found that students with an intercalated degree were more likely to have been involved in research or audit projects (81% vs. 51%, p < 0.01) and had worked on more projects (mean 2.2 vs. 1.2, p < 0.01) than non-intercalated students. Applications to the Academic Foundation Programme were also significantly greater in intercalated versus non-intercalated students (42% vs. 18%, p < 0.012). These results indicate that students undertaking intercalated degrees not only have greater exposure to research, allowing them to develop the skills required for a career in academic medicine, but are also more likely to pursue academic jobs than non-intercalating students.

Several UK medical schools offer intercalated degrees as either an optional or compulsory addition to the standard medical degree programme. Our results suggest that where they are not compulsory, more thoroughly promoting their advantages may encourage students to undertake an intercalated degree and equip them with the skills required for a career in clinical academic medicine.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.