The purpose of this training program is to provide 14 selected prematriculated first year and post first year medical students, and minority college students, an opportunity to engage for 10 weeks in a research project under the direction of a faculty member active in sponsored cancer research at Jefferson Medical College. The proposed program has three objectives. First, it is expected that the selected Student Assistants (SA's) will, in their clinical practice, be prepared and motivated for involvement in occasional clinical research. Second, it is intended that the assistantship experience may contribute to a decision by some SA's to select careers as physician-investigators. Third, the experience will result in attitude changes that will equip former SA.s who treat cancer patients with the means to look beyond the needs of the individual and to see the broader implication of their practices. The program will have the following specific aims, 1) To allow SA's to develop an insight into the spectrum of oncologic investigation. 2) To provide initial experience in the discipline of laboratory and clinical research. 3) To foster constructive view, in the SA's of the place of cancer research in academic medicine. 4) To effect change in the SA's preceptions of cancer patient care and cancer research. 5) To expose SA's to role models who are committed to cancer research. During the 10 weeks, SA's will engage in laboratory or clinical research and will attend a seminar series designed to meet their particular meeds. During the program SA's will be verbally queried by the program director concerning their satisfaction at two week intervals. At the end of the 10 week period the SA's must prepare an abstract of his or her activity in order to receive their last stipend. Moreover, the SA's will prepare a manuscript in a format suitable for publication. The Medical College has chosen to provide further support to this program by providing a partial tuition rebate to those students who complete all of the requirements of the training program. The medical curriculum has also been modified to provide third and fourth year students with up to 16 weeks of research elective time to continue research activities during their clinical rotations. An intensive effort will be made to locate and recruit minority college student assistants.
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