New Research Elective Approved for Second-Year Medical Students

The Biennium 1 Electives Subcommittee at WSU Boonshoft School of medicine has approved a new elective course titled “Research Learning Community 2.”  It will be listed as SMD 617 in the B1 elective catalog published later this year. It will run longitudinally from September 2011 through April 2012.

The elective for M2 students builds on the concepts and activities established in SMD 616 (Introduction to the Research Learning Community). The M2 elective provides a supportive environment for continuation or completion of research projects begun in SMD 616, but SMD 616 is not a prerequisite.

The M2 elective also supports students who have participated in research SIE’s (student initiated electives) or extracurricular research projects, and it can accommodate students looking for a research mentor during year 2. Students who have not taken WSU’s training workshop on research misconduct and the CITI course on the protection of human subjects (training included in SMD 616) will need to acquire both certifications sometime during the M2 elective.

According to the course description:

In September-December, students will participate in monthly seminars and Collaboration Labs surveying models and methodologies in translational research, clinical research, clinical trials, and evidence-based medicine. In addition, students will participate in ongoing meetings of the Translational Research Lecture Series, the Medical Student Research Club, and the Medical Student Journal Club, completing reading and reflective writing assignments associated with program content. Each student will prepare and lead a discussion of a recent research article at a seminar or Journal Club meeting.

In January-April, students will participate in skills development workshops on making and presenting scientific posters. Students will prepare a capstone project that may take several forms. Option 1 is presenting a scientific poster at the annual Medical Student Research Symposium in April. Option 2 is writing a paper on  a critically-appraised topic (CAT) in evidence-based medicine that could serve as a roadmap for a future translational research project. Option 3 is participating in a faculty-mentored research project during the academic year.

SMD 617 represents approximately 80 contact hours and counts as one of two required elective experiences in Biennium 1.

Permission of the course director is required to enroll in SMD 617. Please contact Mark Willis (937-775-3814; mark.willis@wright.edu) to schedule a meeting to discuss enrollment.

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