Research in Psychiatry Medical Education through “MUST Enrich Grant”: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background:The Indian Teachers of Psychiatry (IToP) forum introduced a unique research grant scheme- IToP-MUST (Minds United Scholarship for Teachers) Enrich Research Grant- for conducting research in psychiatry education. This scoping review’s objectives are to (a) assess the research areas and methodologies of MUST Enrich grant-supported research, (b) identify strengths and limitations of these research works, and (c) inform the researchers and funding agency concerning robust methodologies and study areas that can be considered in the future.Methods:We included all MUST-funded original educational research projects from their inception (2020) to the present, which were either published or, although unpublished, available in the public domain.Results:Eleven research projects were identified. Most awardees were junior academic faculty members (n = 9, 82%). Eight (73%) studies were related to Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) and were based on teaching-learning (TL) or related methods under the CBME framework, focusing on newer TL methods. Seven of eight (88%) were based on undergraduate TL. Most (n = 8, 73%) of the studies had an observational cross-sectional design, whereas the rest were interventional studies. Almost all were quantitative studies (n = 10, 91%). The prime themes of the research were students’ and teachers’ perspectives on the study topic, innovations in psychiatry TL, and their educational impact.Conclusion:This review’s findings will inform funders and researchers about future research areas and help formulate robust methodologies. Other funders must earmark their funding for educational research to grow this field.