Purpose: Our goal was to develop a successful research collaboration program, Military OB/GYN HeadHunters, to connect military medical students with residents, fellows, and staff physicians across the Military Health System (MHS) to foster research collaboration and mentorship.
Background: Research experience as a medical student creates opportunities for mentorship, enhances interest in specialties, prepares students for conducting research throughout their careers, and improves research team productivity. However, no platform presently exists to connect military students to potential mentors and increase access to research.
Methods: We conducted a needs assessment of medical students (from the Uniformed Services University and Health Professions Scholarship Program), staff physicians, residents, and fellows practicing in the MHS via email, social media, and listservs. We used the survey results to create a secure online spreadsheet to match medical students to researchers recruiting student researchers.
Results: Of the medical students surveyed, 82.56% (n=71/86) reported barriers in participating in research. The most common barrier was “I don’t where to look for research opportunities.” Of the staff surveyed, 88.24% (n=15/17) indicated they were interested in medical student involvement in their research. However, 53.33% (n=8/15) of the surveyed staff reported they did not know any students who would be good candidates. Since the launch in April 2021, our 3-month follow-up survey had a response rate of 40.00% (n=6/15) for staff and 47.06% (n=32/68) for students. 100% (n=6/6) of faculty advertising projects recruited at least one student to join their project. 85.71% (n=12/14) of students actively seeking participation joined a research team. Subjective feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive.
Discussions: Our novel research collaboration program successfully connected military medical students with active researchers in the MHS. Leaders in medical education can consider adopting this framework to improve student participation in research within other specialties, and expand to residents.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2022, Student, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Residency Director, Medical Knowledge, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, GME, UME, Independent Study, Team-Based Learning,
David Boedeker, DO, MHA, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center; Chatfield Lindsay, MD; Nikole Kerns, BS; Monica Lutgendorf, MD; Katerina Shvartsman, MD
