Document Detail


Required vs. elective research and in-depth scholarship programs in the medical student curriculum.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20182112     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The ability to understand and integrate new knowledge into clinical practice is a necessary quality of good physicians. Student participation in in-depth scholarship could enhance this skill in physicians while also creating a larger cadre of physician-scientists prepared to advance the field of medicine. However, because no definitive data exist demonstrating that in-depth scholarship in medical school leads to improved patient care or to productive academic careers, whether such scholarship should be required as part of the medical school curriculum is unclear. In this article, the authors present both sides of this debate. Theoretical benefits to students of a required scholarly program include closer mentorship by individual faculty, enhanced capabilities in critical interpretation of research findings, and increased confidence to investigate conundrums encountered in clinical care. Society may also benefit by having physicians available to create and apply new knowledge related to biomedicine. These theoretical benefits must be balanced, however, by pragmatic considerations of required scholarly projects including their impact on medical school applications, their effect on the medical curriculum, their costs, the availability of mentors, and their effects on the school's educational culture.
Authors:
Julie Parsonnet; Philip A Gruppuso; Steven L Kanter; Michael Boninger
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges     Volume:  85     ISSN:  1938-808X     ISO Abbreviation:  Acad Med     Publication Date:  2010 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-02-25     Completed Date:  2010-03-22     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8904605     Medline TA:  Acad Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  405-8     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5107, USA. parsonnt@stanford.edu
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Biomedical Research / education*
Curriculum*
Education, Medical / standards*
United States

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Commentary: the importance of musculoskeletal medicine and anatomy in medical education.
Next Document:  Encouraging Scholarship: Medical School Programs to Promote Student Inquiry Beyond the Traditional M...