COM Outlook - Winter 2016

College of Osteopathic Medicine 21 Robin Jacobs poses in front of her research poster entitled, “Mentoring First- Year Medical Students to Be Physician-Scientists Through Meaningful Student Involvement.” Robin Jacobs works on a research project with third-year student Hassan Iqbal, M.S., who began his NSU-COM Predoctoral Research Fellowship studies in July, and second-year student Amy Tran. smartphone app to promote medication adherence in individuals with chronic illnesses. These mixed-methods studies enable students to learn additional skills in qualitative and quantitative research methods, such as building statistical databases and conducting analyses using statistical software. The students also learned how and when to apply a mixed-method approach to clinical research. All project involvement occurs on the students’ own time; it is not part of the school curriculum. Research Outcomes As a direct result of this ad-hoc mentorship program, 18 mentored students delivered 12 poster presentations at the Bureau on International Osteopathic Medicine International Seminar, Annual American Osteopathic Association Research Conference, and Osteopathic Medical Conference and Exposition, where an NSU student won first prize in the poster competition. Also notable was an article published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association for which students served as coauthors. In addition to publications and presentations, these experiences solidified students’ interest and involvement in future research activities. Moreover, several students reported that they were told by residency interviewers that their research experience was a discerning factor in them being matched to their first-choice residency program. The End Game The goal of this tailored mentoring activity is to provide meaningful research education and experiences to osteopathic medical students and help them develop well-designed and in- tellectually sound research projects suited to the students’ time considerations, interests, and needs. It is important for medical faculty members to demonstrate intellectual curiosity and scientific skepticism, as well as improve the performance of medical care through the application of the scientific method. Most graduates find careers in medical colleges, universities, or major medical research centers. These physician scientists help unite science and clinical practice. Students should be encouraged to use their creativity and enthusiasm to produce scholarly work while developing important critical-thinking skills in not only conducting research, but appraising the medical research literature. Medical colleges might offer predoctoral research fellowships, but they are limited in number, require a longer time commit- ment, postpone graduation, and are costly to the institution. Less intensive, yet comprehensive, mentoring opportunities using a tailored approach might be a better and more practical alternative for increasing the number of trained clinical researchers.