Abstract
Objectives
To evaluate the impact of a scholarly concentration for medical students, which aims
to develop students' research, clinical and advocacy skills to promote women's reproductive
health.
Study design
Scholarly concentration programs provide opportunities to engage in scholarship beyond
the traditional medical school curriculum. Faculty from the Family Medicine and Obstetrics
and Gynecology Departments at Brown University collaboratively developed the Scholarly
Concentration in Women's Reproductive Health. Three to five students per class enroll
and carry out a 3-year mentored research project, attend monthly seminars, write position
papers on reproductive health controversies and complete clinical electives in reproductive
health. Students are required to disseminate their work through conference presentations
and/or peer-reviewed publications. The program evaluation included measures of scholarly
productivity and qualitative analyses of interviews with students and mentors as well
as written and verbal feedback from students.
Results
Ten students comprised the first 3 classes completing the program, producing 24 national
presentations and 9 peer-reviewed publications. Reported program benefits included
increased knowledge, scholarship skills and support for career development in reproductive
health. Key factors facilitating these results were as follows: effective mentoring
relationships, the community of practice that emerged through the monthly seminars
and student independence in project work.
Conclusions
A scholarly concentration for medical students provides a unique platform to support
the development of talented students as future leaders in women's reproductive health.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 18, 2014
Footnotes
☆Funding and conflicts of interest: This study was supported in part by the Braufman Fund at Brown University.
☆☆None of the authors has any conflict of interest, financial or otherwise, related to this work.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
