Course Number / INTD4212
Course Title / School of Medicine - Research/Scholarly Activity Elective(Level 3)
Permission / Yes
Contact /
Faculty Director / Jennifer Sharpe Potter, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Location / UTHSCSA
Lengthof Rotation / 4 weeks (Level 3 research may be done longitudinally—i.e., multiple four week blocks—over the four year curriculum if approved by the Office of UME and the Research Dean’s Office. If approved, students will receive a “Pass/Fail” grade for each period of time that they participate in the research elective.)
Period(s) Offered / All periods, as determined by the student and his/her faculty mentor
Max Students Per Rotation / Unlimited
Course Instructor(s) / Faculty in the UTHSCSA School of Medicine or UT School of Public Health
Course Description / Medical research is multidisciplinary and broad in scope. Students will participate in basic, clinical, quality improvement, or patient safety research projects under the supervision of faculty at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The goal of this elective is to immerse students in a rich scholarly environment and provide an opportunity to work with research/faculty mentors to fully engage in a scholarly research process— from writing the proposal, to collecting the data, to disseminating results. Students enrolled in this course will have prior experience with research and ongoing research activities. As such, this elective is open to students who already have an established working relationship with a faculty member (including students pursuing the MD/MPH degree and MD with Distinction in Research), and enrollment in the Level 3 elective will reflect their increasing experience with the research process. The INTD 4211(Level 2) elective is a prerequisite. As with INTD 4211 (Level 2), the expectation is that enrolled studentswill continue with research experiences begun in INTD 4210 (Level 1) and INTD 4211 (Level 2), or produce evidence of past experience, knowledge and/or skills which are deemed equivalent to these prerequisites. Interested studentsmust submit a research elective application which cites the faculty mentor whom the student will work with to the Research Dean’s Office no later than four weeks before the research elective is to begin. Applications will be reviewed and confirmed or declined in a timely manner.
Learning objectives / Students will be able to:
- Formulate a research question and identify a research methodology to answer that question
- Understand research ethics and apply an ethical approach to research design, implementation, and dissemination
- Design a research study and gather quality data
- Apply and interpret basic biostatistics relevant to the individual research project
- Write scientific reports
Evaluation / The supervising faculty member will evaluate the performance of the student using a standard research-specific medical student evaluation form. Students will receive a “Pass” or “Fail” summative grade at the conclusion of the four week elective. Faculty will be expected to give the student formative feedback after two weeks to assist the student in meeting all expectations to pass the elective.
Details / Approx. patients per student per week: 0
Approx. patient encounters: 0 /
- Inpatient: 0%
- General ward: 0%
- Intensive care unit: 0%
- Emergency room: 0%
- Outpatient: 0%
Call duty frequency / None
Weekend duty frequency / Dependent upon project
Student evaluation frequency / End of rotation
Mandatory sessions/conferences / Attendance at conferences is at the discretion of the faculty supervisor
Application Process
Goal:The goal of this elective is to immerse students in a rich, mentored research environment and provide an opportunity to fully engage in the research process, from writing the proposal to collecting the data to disseminating research results. We recognize that students cannot begin, implement and complete a research project in four weeks. We anticipate that students may enter this rotation at three possible stages in the research process: (1) developing a new project, (2) continuing work for an ongoing project, or (3) completing data analysis and write-up of a completed project.
Deadlines:Students must submit their completed application for this elective rotation no later than four weeks priorto the start of the rotation. E-mail documents to the Research Dean’s Office .
Research Mentors: Must be UTHSCSA or UT School of Public Health faculty. Students seeking mentors can review the searchable Faculty Mentor List page at Faculty Profiles at Special circumstances may be considered to allow for an off-campus mentor. To request this option, pleasecontact .
The Application: Must include (1) a plan for conducting research by the student and (2) a mentoring plan endorsed by the mentor. The two application forms are included below. Both forms are due four weeks in advance of the rotation.
- The Research Plan will cite the project’s specific aims, significance, innovation, approach, and timeline.
- The Mentoring Plan will cite the mentor’s expectations for the student’s work, their resources, supervision plan and a signed agreement to be the student’s mentor during this rotation. NOTE: The faculty mentor is responsible for ensuring that students working on projects are in compliance with regulatory requirements and UTHSCSA policies (i.e., training in human subjects protection, clinical research training, IRB and IACUC policies and procedures).
Deliverables - A Written Product:At the end of the research elective, students must submit a final written reportand hours log (guidelines and form are available on our website at to the Research Dean’s Office. These aredue no later than eight weeks following the end of the elective, or prior to your last official class day if the research elective is completed within two months of your graduation. E-mail these documents to .
- For students developing a new project, you must submit one of the following:
- A complete IRB proposal
- A complete IACUC proposal
- A detailed research proposal
- For students already engaged in an ongoing project, you must submit:
- A research progress report
- For students completing a project, you must submit one of the following:
- A research poster
- A brief report of findings
- A full manuscript draft
- A completed manuscript
Research with Humans and Animals: All research involving animal or human subjects, specimens, or records is governed by federal regulations to protect subjects and their privacy. These regulations apply to medical students and their projects. Students must have specific training in relevant research ethics (available online, see below) and must submit applications for IRB or IACUC approval in advance of collecting data. There are no exceptions. Turnaround time for IRB or IACUC approval can be six weeks or longer, depending on the risk to the subject for participating in the study. Faculty mentors are responsible for ensuring student compliance on these any other regulatory or university policies appropriate to their research activities.
- Institutional Review Board (IRB - Human Subjects):
- IRB Training:
- Institutional Animal Care Program:
- IACUC Training:
Note: Any research done with human subjects in non-UTHSCSA institutions (such as University Hospital or clinics, VA Hospital or clinics, or other hospitals, community programs or agencies) will require approval by that institution in addition to UTHSCSA approval. This step requires additional preparation and wait time. Discuss the approval process with your mentor early in the collaboration to ensure realistic timelines for completing project milestones.
Application - The Research Plan(to be completed by the student)
About 1 or 2 pages - Expand this table as needed. Must be typed - NO HANDWRITTEN APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED
Student Name,
MS graduating class
Email Address
Project Title
Research Category / □BASIC / □CLINICAL / □QUALITY IMPROVEMENT / □PATIENT SAFTEY
Project Stage / □Starting a new project / □Continuing work on an
ongoing project / □Completing a project
PRELIMINARY WORK:If this is an ongoing project, briefly describe the work you have completed to date.
Research Compliance / Do you have IRB/IACUC approval? / Human Subjects Training? / UHS/VA Approval?
□Yes
□No / □Yes
□No / □Yes
□No
Specific Aims / Concisely state the goals of the proposed research and summarize the expected outcome(s), including the impact that the results of the proposed research will have on the field(s) involved.
Research
Strategy / SIGNIFICANCE:Explain the importance of the problem that this project addresses as well as how the proposed project will improve scientific knowledge and/or clinical practice.
INNOVATION:Explain how the application challenges or adds to current research or clinical practice paradigms. Describe any novel methods, instrumentation or interventions to be used, and any advantage over existing methods, instrumentation or interventions.
APPROACH:Describe the overall strategy, study design, study conditions (e.g., treatments/interventions), method for gathering data, sampling strategy and sample size, and data analysis.
Application - The Research Plan, continued
Timeline / Project Start Date______/ Project End Date______
BLOCKS (1 block = 4 weeks)
□1 Block / □2 Blocks / □3 Blocks
What do you expect to achieve during each of these four weeks? Add lines as needed.Only complete Wk5-12 if multiple blocks are needed (i.e., if enrolling in more than one block of a four week elective period).
Milestone or Task / Wk1 / Wk2 / Wk3 / Wk4 / Wk5 / Wk6 / Wk7 / Wk8 / Wk9 / Wk10 / Wk11 / Wk12
Example:
Write IRB application / X / X / X / X
Application - The Mentoring Plan
(to be completed by the mentor)
Mentor’s Name
Email Address
Are you a faculty member at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio? / If not at UTHSCSA, please cite your institution and explain your connection to the student or research project.
□Yes
□No
Your Expectations / What do you expect the student to accomplish during the elective?
Your Resources / What training and research experiences will you provide for the student? What other resources will you make available for the student?
Supervision / Due to the brief duration of this elective, your active engagement is extremely important. Do you agree to meet with the student at least weekly during the elective? / Are there others on your research team who will also supervise the student’s work? If yes, please explain.
□Yes / □Yes
□No
Evaluation / We expect a written report from the student following this elective rotation. Do you agree to complete the evaluation of the student within two weeks following the elective?
□Yes
Mentor’s Signature / I agree to provide research mentorship to this student during theirresearch elective.
Student’s Name ______
Mentor’s Signature ______Date ______
INTD 4212(Level 3) Research Elective - Page 1 of 5 (2015.1.21)