Medical Scholars Program Sets New Record

The Medical Scholars Program (MSP) is seeing its highest level of participation since the program’s inception in 2015. Forty-four of the Medical Partnership’s rising M2s (88% of the class) are participating in the program.  This number is up from 85% from last year’s program.

Last year, all MSP projects were done remotely due to COVID-19, but this year will be mixed. Some institutions will be accepting students and will allow them to do in-person projects, while others will complete their research remotely.

“As the director of the Medical Scholars Program I think it’s terrific that so many students chose to pursue a research project this summer,” said Dr. Leslie Lee. “Typically, we’ve had about 75% of the class participate in the program and I believe most, if not all, have found it to be a valuable learning experience. I’m always impressed by how much the students accomplish and learn in just 10 weeks, and the outstanding quality of their presentations, so I’m thrilled that this year that many more students will be taking advantage of this opportunity.”

The Medical Scholars Program is an opportunity for students to expand their scholarly experiences and learn how medical knowledge is derived. They also learn how to frame a testable hypothesis, write a research proposal, carry out a project, evaluate scientific and medical data, and write up their results. It provides them with an opportunity to communicate their findings through presentations at local, regional, and sometimes national scientific meetings.

The results from all MSP projects are then presented at the annual Research Symposium in the fall. The majority of participants are second year medical students who complete research in the summer between first and second year.

“I see the Medical Scholars Program as a central component of our campus educational mission which is to educate excellent physicians with the necessary skills and attributes to meet the challenges of the 21st century practice of medicine,” said Lee. “This mission is achieved in part through a curriculum that is grounded in evidence-based clinical decision making. As such, it is important for students to learn where the evidence comes from, be it basic biomedical, clinical or translational science, and how to critically appraise and make sense of the data, so that as they progress through their careers as physicians, they are able to navigate the vast amount of medical knowledge available and incorporate new knowledge into their practice and provide their patients with the best possible care.”

 

The Class of 2024 will travel across the country partaking in many different specialties for the research:

 

Locations: 

2 @ AU in Augusta

3 w/ MP faculty

5 w/ UGA faculty

18 @ Emory

1 @ Johns Hopkins

1 @ Morehouse/Grady Hospital

1@ MUSC (Charleston)

1@ Northwestern

1@ NYU

3 @ Rush Medical Center (Chicago

1 @ Seattle Research Institute

1 @ Sloan Kettering

1 @ Stanford

2 @ U of Chicago

1 @ U of Colorado

1 @ U of Pittsburgh

1 @ U of Wisconsin

 

Specialties represented: 

Surgery (various with majority being orthopedics)

Psychiatry

Radiology (various)

Internal Medicine

Emergency Medicine

Anesthesiology

Oncology

Medical Illustration/ObGyn

For more information about attending the Medical College of Georgia at the Medical Partnership campus

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