CAPA project

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Thème 
The CAPA project: impact of personal and institutional factors on medical students’ academic path and career choices

Aims

1. Profile
   - analyze the profile of medical students applicants and of the sub-population selected for medical studies
2. Educational context and learning
   - study how students perceive their educational  context, how this perception evolves along the curriculum, and how it might impact learning approaches and academic performance.
3. Academic performance
   - monitor students’ performance (results at the various examinations), investigate how it evolves along study years
   - study the impact of individual factors (profile, values, motivations) and institutional factors on academic performance.
4. Empathic concerns and behaviors
   - investigate how empathic concerns and behaviors develop during the medical curriculum, and what factors can influence this development
5. Career path
   - monitor students’ career intentions, investigate how they evolve along the academic career
   - study the impact of individual factors (profile, values, motivations) and institutional factors on career choices.

Persons involved

UNIGE UDREM Anne Baroffio Margaret Gerbase Milena Abbiati Eva Pfarrwaler Bernard Cerutti Giovanni Piumatti (HCUGE) Stéphanie Schrempft (now HCUGE) IuMFE Johanna Sommer Dagmar Haller GSEM Stéphane Guerrier Lionel Voirol Mucyo Karemera

Collaborations internationales   UNI PORTO ALEGRE (Brazil) Margaret Gerbase UNI LYON (France) Marie-Paule Gustin UNI STRASBOURG (France) Thierry Pelaccia GROUPE HOSPITALIER MULHOUSE (France) Fanny Mootien UNI BRAGA (Portugal) Manuel Costa Patricio Costa

 

Supported by

Office Fédéral de la Santé Publique (2013-2016)
University of Geneva Faculty of medicine (2015-2017)
Maus Foundation (General Fund of the University) (2018-2021)

 

RESULTS

 1.  Profile

Research Question: Personal profile of medical students selected through a knowledge-based exam only: are we missing suitable students?

Selection through a knowledge-based exam privileged diligent students. It did neither advantage nor preclude candidates with a more humane profile.

https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:86725

 

2.  Educational context and learning

Research Question: How does students’ perception of their educational context relate to their learning approaches in three learning environments differing by their teaching formats (lecture or problem-based-learning PBL) and integration level of the curriculum (traditional or integrated).

An integrated lecture-based curriculum is as effective as a PBL curriculum in promoting students’ deep learning approaches, reinforcing the importance of integrating the curriculum before choosing the teaching format

https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:109289

Research Question : Does students' strength of motivation for studying medecine impact their use of learning approaches ?

Students’ strength of motivation positively predicts a deep approach and negatively a surface approach to learning
https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:133009

 

3. Academic performance

Research Question: how do medical students modulate their use of deep and surface learning approaches along their preclinical and clinical curriculum and how does this impact academic performance

Although students tend to use deep rather than surface learning approaches when entering medical school, their preferences for deep approaches tend to decline throughout medical training while increasing for surface approaches. Initial higher use of deep approaches predict a better academic performance.

https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:144841

 
4. Empathic concerns and behaviors

Research Question: What is the relationship between internal and external motives for studying medicine and empathy in medical students?

Internal and external motives for studying medicine may positively or negatively affect the development of empathy among medical school students during their clinical study years.

Learning approaches could be a pathway by which internal and external motives for studying medicine are related to empathy among medical school candidates.

https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:122276

Research Question : How does empathy evolve during medical school?

We identified two empathy trajectory groups: lower and decreasing (n = 59; 29%) and higher and stable (n = 142; 71%). Openness and patients-oriented motives for studying medicine are associated with higher and stable empathy.

https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:137152

 

 

  5. Career paths

Research question: How do swiss medical students intend to practice in underserved areas and what motivational factors predict these intentions?

The actual number of Swiss students interested in working in underserved areasis low and is probably insufficient to meet current societal needs. Work variety and work conditions appear to be factors that might attract interested and undecided students towards working in underserved areas.
https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:144667

Research question: How do students’ career preferences for primary health care evolve over time in two medical schools in Switzerland and Portugal?

The preference for PHC is not stable in all students and may fluctuate over time
https://www.unige.ch/medecine/udrem/files/2315/3604/9309/poster_Pfarrwaller_amee2018.pdf

Research question: do students attracted by primary health care present specific characteristics ?

Students motivated by a PHC career are characterized by the personality trait of agreeableness. Students intending to specialize as PHC doctors are mainly female and empathetic students which are less motivated by extrinsic incentives.

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/udrem/files/4414/5026/0686/Baroffio_POSTER_AMEE_2015.pdf

Research question: what are the factors influencing medical students’ preferences for primary health care?

A long-term relationship with patients and the variety of pathologies are significant motives predicting PHC motivation.

https://www.unige.ch/medecine/udrem/files/8214/6952/4812/Abbiati-AMEE2016.pdf