Promoting self-regulated learning skills in medical students is the need of time

OBJECTIVES: Currently, there is a need to develop safe and competent medical graduates. Research reveals that the promotion of learning skills enhances lifelong experience. The objective of this study is to measure medical students' aptitude in four essential components of self-regulation: planning, monitoring, control, and reflection. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 96 MBBS students using a snowball sampling technique. The Internet link to the online survey, designed on Google forms, was shared through Facebook, WhatsApp, and e-mail. A self-regulation questionnaire comprising 22 items was administered to all participants, and the collected data were analysed using SPSS version 20. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 50 (52.1%) women and 46 (47.9%) men completed the survey. The response rate was 78% (96 out of 123). The mean age of the respondents was 22.5 years. The mean self-regulation score was found to be 71.56 ± 11.19. Among self-regulation components, the lowest score was found for planning, with an average value of 27.01 ± 1.33, and the highest average value was noticed for reflection, 34.08 ± 1.30. CONCLUSIONS: Our conclusions are as follows: although we have included the traits of seven-star doctors in our mission and vision statement, we could not identify the strategies to acquire these traits. One of the strategies involves promoting self-regulation in our students through various teaching methodologies.