All Campuses

BASIC, CLINICAL, AND APPLIED SENIOR RESEARCH ELECTIVE

MED 9510

Preceptors:  Appointed by Campus Dean and/or the appropriate Department Chairman

Offered:   All periods

Purpose:  To expose the senior medical student to the principles of medical research and allow the student to conduct actual research under the          mentorship of an experienced researcher in the medical field.

Objectives of the Elective:  Following completion of this elective, the student(s) will be able to:

   1.  Complete an abstract
        a.    describing the research question,
        b.    with a review of the literature for existing information relevant to the question
        c.    collating, distilling and summarizing  the acquired data
        d.    document the conclusions derived from the acquired data (including applying relevant statistical and/or graphic techniques for the analysis).
   2.  Defend or presemt the project to the preceptor, mentor, faculty, and/or peers.
   3.  Prepare the data for presentation (oral or poster) and/or manuscript, depending on department and preceptor requirements (for honors grading).

Instructional Activities:  During this elective, the student(s) will be involved in/experience:

  1. Weekly meetings (minimum) with preceptor, research mentor, and/or content expert to assist activities and determine extent of progress on the project (including data collection, entry, anlysis, and manuscript/abstract preparation).
  2. Self-learning modules on research design and statistical analysis available from the department in which the research is conducted.
  3. Self-learning modules on presentation software available from the department in which the research is conducted.

Criteria for Grading:  During and following this elective, the preceptor will:

  1. Assess the student's effort and the quality of the abstract and manuscript/prsentation

Criteria for Grading:

  1. Preparation of an abstract if required (25%).
  2. Presentation of abstract if required  (25%).
  3. Participation in project and completion of objectives (individualized for each student, 50-100%).