The scientific value of medical student research: The experience at the Arrow Program for Medical Research Education

This study presents a comparative analysis of the publications of students participating in the Arrow Research Program in comparison to those of attending physicians and researchers at the same tertiary medical center in order to assess the impact of the Arrow Research Program on the students' scientific achievements. The study encompassed 90 Arrow Research Program students who were involved in the program at the Sheba Medical Center between 2019 and 2021. As a comparison group, 2082 attending physicians and researchers affiliated with the same center during the same period of time were considered. Publications were collected from The Web of Science Database, and the publication data parameters of each group were compared to assess scientific outcomes. The Arrow Research Program students collectively published 67 articles, and the 2082 physicians and researchers in the comparison group produced 4283 papers during the study timeframe. Similarly, the average impact factor of the journals in which the Arrow Research Program papers were published was 4.16 ± 2.68, similar to the average impact factor of 4.74 ± 6.26 in the comparison group (p = 0.388). Likewise, the average quartile of the journals in which the Arrow Research Program articles were published was 1.39 ± 0.59, which is similar to the comparison group's average quartile of 1.39 ± 0.63 (p = 0.997). In conclusion, the Arrow Research Program demonstrates its effectiveness in empowering young students to execute successful research projects. This study may help develop educational programs worldwide.