RESEARCH ARTICLE Promoting research and a a

Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground The appreciation and application of research and audit principles is widely recognised as a core component of all medical school curricula [1]. In the United Kingdom (UK), medical school curriculum guidance is set out by the General Medical Council’s (GMC) ‘Tomorrow’s Doctors ’ (2009) [2], which calls for proficiency in evidence-based medicine, formulation of research questions and an understanding of ethical governance (Table 1). Such expectations are similar in other European countries such as Germany, where a period of formal undergraduate re-search and resulting thesis submission is mandatory prior to assuming the title of ‘Doctor ’ [3]. However, numerous practical, cultural and political barriers restrict medical students ’ participation in high quality audit and research projects, including a perceived lack of time and opportun-ity, hostile environments and inadequate academic train-ing in medical school [4-7]. Medical student participation in audit and researc