The Impact of Experiential Learning in Host-Pathogen Research on Medical Students’ Interests and Attitudes towards Microbiology and Immunology

There is a shortage of residents in the infectious diseases (IDs) specialty due to a lack of interest in this field. If the choice of an ID subspecialty is linked to medical school experiences, then how we teach microbiology and immunology could be a factor in the declining interest in the field. We sought to determine whether experiential learning activities on host-pathogen research might improve students’ interests and attitudes toward medical microbiology and immunology. Experiential learning of medical students undertaking research project on microbiology/immunology leads to subjective attitude changes (i.e., increased science motivation, confidence, and knowledge) and the development of a new social niche. It also lets students learn new scientific techniques and use novel technological devices, which have an impact in the experiential learning of basic sciences such as microbiology and immunology. The results of this study support the idea of a beneficial effect of experiential learning, which may rekindle interest of medical students in the field of infectious diseases.