The Intensive Summer Research Training in Emergency Medicine (ISTEM) program described in this application will be instrumental in expanding the number of medical students? exposed to research and launching students on a pathway to emergency medicine research. The overarching goal of the program is to serve as a resource for engaging rising second-year UNC-CH medical students in emergency medicine research, with the intent of recruiting physicians into a lifelong research career. The short-term goal of the program is to provide medical students with a meaningful research experience early in their medical school careers emphasizing the treatment of acute severe or life-threatening illness and injury. In order to achieve this goal, the aims of the program are:
Aim 1. To match selected UNC-CH ISTEM scholars to outstanding, funded research mentors who will provide a productive and rigorous environment for conducting a summer emergency medicine research project in an area of importance to the NIH mission;
Aim 2. To provide selected scholars with a formative educational experience in the goals, methods, and challenges of emergency medicine research, including topics on research ethics and conduct;
and Aim 3. To track the outcomes of UNC-CH ISTEM students to determine the success of the program and to improve and expand this training opportunity. UNC-CH ISTEM program was designed by physician researchers who dedicate their time to providing both excellent patient care and researching methods to improve patient care. Under the guidance of renowned well-published physicians who bring expertise to many areas of research, including emergent conditions, cardiovascular and pulmonary health, blood and bleeding disorders, health services, and medical epidemiology, and who hold numerous research grants, we except to train and incorporate several medical students each summer into the program. These students will experience research design, execution, data collection, and analysis, thereby training them as the next generation of physician researchers. The UNC-CH ISTEM program administrative team will consist of two Program co-Directors, three Associate Directors, an Administrator, and an Advisory Committee. The Program co- Directors will be responsible for ensuring that the ISTEM program functions with the highest scientific integrity in a way that fully leverages interactions between scholars and mentors to meet program goals. The co-directors will be assisted in the day-to-day operations of the program by three associate directors representing basic science, epidemiological science, and clinical/translational science. The program administrator will provide support for the program including financial and reporting functions along with website and database management. Key activities in the training plan include the medical student application and review process, mentor-mentee matching, mandatory didactics and training activities before and during research activities (e.g., Summer Series, UNC Annual John B Graham Society Medical Student Research, and Zollicoffer Lecture), summer-long research project with mentor, and evaluation of the program. Trainees are also expected to pursue publication and dissemination of their research findings during the summer and/or after the research term has ended. The training program will generally extend over 8-12 weeks during the summer and consist of six trainees each year. Trainees outcomes are expected to consist of increased understanding and practice in research design and implementation, increased experience with mentor-mentee relationships, peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and increased trainee self- awareness related to his/her future research goals and interests.
The UNC-CH ISTEM program will allow current UNC-CH medical students to experience public health and medical research first-hand in topics related to emergency medical and patient care of the heart, lungs, and blood. This program will provide the opportunity to gain relevant experience and insight into the research field directly under well-published, grant-funded mentors while maintaining strict guidelines and expectations. The value of this program will be immeasurable as ISTEM will influence the future direction of upcoming physician researchers early in their academic career.
