Introducing INSPIRE, a scholarly component in Undergraduate Medical education

Abstract

Individualized learning is a fundamental tenet of the Carnegie Foundation's new recommendations for physician training. A primary goal of Mount Sinai School of Medicine's new curriculum is to train self-directed physicians who have mastered lifelong learning skills. The Individual Scholarly Project and Independent Research Experience (INSPIRE) was created to enable fourth-year students to conduct mentored, independent scholarly projects to develop critical thinking skills and intellectual independence. Four students were accepted into the 2008 12-week pilot. Two did clinical research, 1 conducted medical education research, and 1 continued a basic science project. INSPIRE featured weekly sessions in which students shared their progress, heard about the careers of physician-scientists, and participated in presentation skills workshops. Mentors gave feedback using a form based on the program goals. Anonymous evaluations showed that all participants believed their goals were successfully fulfilled, that the likelihood of including research in their careers increased, and that they felt more skilled at writing abstracts and presenting their work orally. Students agreed that INSPIRE was a valuable opportunity for acquiring in-depth knowledge on a topic and building research and presentation skills. Helping students shape an individualized scholarly experience may help to produce doctors who are self-directed, are personally fulfilled, are able to serve society with diverse expertise, and have the tools to become leaders in their fields.

St George's University's Medical Student Research Institute: A Novel, Virtual Programme for Medical Research Collaboration

“…Implementation of research into a medical student's academic profile fosters critical thinking skills, promotion of life-long learning and creativity and prepares students to be physicianinvestigators (4)(5). Scholarly activity among medical students has become increasingly common in medical schools in both USA and Canada (5), and several institutions have used such scholarly pursuits to develop leaders in medicine.…”

Introducing Medical Students to Careers in Medical Education

“…9 Initially, most SC programs focused on basic or clinical research, but a number of schools have recently implemented SCs in other domains, including medical education. [10][11][12][13] A venue with rich potential for exposing medical students to careers in medical education is the annual medical education conference, which is a principal source of educational scholarship, networking, collaboration, and information sharing. Attendance at such a conference offers students opportunities for career-specific learning, skill development, role models, positive and encouraging learning environments, and networking, all of which can have a positive effect on career choice.…”

Write

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] In 1999, a faculty committee at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) reexamined the goals of the undergraduate medical education (UME) program and determined that, consistent with the mission of a major research university, VUSM should nurture the development of future scholars in medicine. The goals of these programs vary, but they include the development of critical thinking skills, the stimulation of creativity, the promotion of lifelong learning, and the preparation of future physician-investigators.…”