Reference Framework of Research Competencies for Medical Education

The objective of this theoretical essay is to present an update on investigative skills and describe a frame of reference so that it can be applied to university programs in health sciences. Methodologically, review articles located in the PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases were consulted. The reading and analysis of the sources were carried out from a classical hermeneutic approach, together with reflections and proposals from the researcher. The categories of analysis were related to the definitions, theoretical bases and strategies of the investigative competences, which can be implemented in the university system to promote their development. The findings allow us to conceive investigative competencies as a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to achieve effective performance in the investigative process. Its formative process can be studied from social constructivism, historical-cultural constructivism and formative research. The main strategies to promote their development involve project-based learning, reading clubs, essay writing, participation in research groups, research hothouses, among others. It is concluded that investigative skills are necessary for the training of health science students, mainly for the promotion of critical thinking and evidence-based decision-making.