APGO

Posters
Tienne KKS Wong, BS, MS

James F. Smith MD, Rebecca Collins B.S, M.S , Laura Sienas, BS

Objectivce: To develop a structured medical student experience in review manuscript preparation.

Methods: Three medical students desired to gain experience in medical research during a limited time and with limited research resources. Together with a faculty adviser, we structured a four-week “paper month” curriculum to learn the fundamentals of clinical topic review methodology and manuscript design and preparation. We collaborated in developing a topic that would be interesting, manageable, and relevant to clinical practice. The curriculum was established to allow independent but guided study with weekly meetings to develop milestones, write, edit, and format the manuscript in a specialty-specific journal (“Obstetrics and Gynecology“) style.

Results: We spent 25-30 hours a week on this research elective. One student served as first author. Week one included the literature search. Week two included completion of the manuscript outline and distribution of writing responsibilities. In week three, we developed skills in peer review as we collaboratively edited a first draft. In week four, we discussed our first manuscript edits and how to stylistically transform our paper into a more concise piece to submit for publication. We found the experience informative, organized, and beneficial. We gained knowledge in library sciences and resources, medical manuscript formatting and writing, and the specific scientific content of our topic, “Contemporary Use of Erythropoietin in Pregnancy.” A 6900-word manuscript was completed.

Conclusions: It is critical for all physicians to be able to evaluate medical literature that they can use in practice. It is also important to gain the ability to effectively communicate medical knowledge through writing. We describe the development of a fourth year medical student elective that allows research experience without need for significant clinical or basic laboratory resources, and allows students to gain experience in review manuscript development.