University of Wisconsin–Madison

Medical Education Project

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  • Shaprio: Find a Shapiro Summer Research Project that is interested and is about medical education.

OR think about:

  • Your Interests: What areas you are really passionate about and how we teach them? Connect with people who are currently teaching in those areas and see if they have any projects they are working on related to the education aspects.
  • Reflecting: Look back at your past courses. What was a course you liked and ask them if there are areas they are interested in improving. 
  • Faculty Matchmaking: Identify faculty members whose work or teaching style you admire. See if there is anything they are working on improving in their teaching that you could help with and could become a research project.

Before you break ground, you need your project approved by PoD MedEd leadership.

The Summary Requirements: You must submit a summary in SMApply including:

  • The Basics: Project title, site/location, and mentor name/department.
  • The Core: Your specific research question and a detailed project description.
  • The Individual Effort: Clearly define your role in the project and your specific learning objectives.
  • The Goal: What are the intended outcomes?

Administrative “Must-Dos”:

  • SSMApply: Submit your signed Student/Mentor Agreement Form (PDF) in SMApply.
  • Collaborations: If working with other students, email Katy Rosko (krosko@wisc.edu) for guidance on how to split the scholarly.

This is the active phase of research, development, or quality improvement.

  • IRB & Approvals: Ensure you have obtained (or been exempted from) Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. You will need to provide verification of this in your final submission.
  • Mentorship: Maintain regular contact with your mentor.
  • When to Reach Out: If your project hits a snag, your mentor becomes unresponsive, or you aren’t sure if your data is meeting the “scholarly” threshold, contact the PoD MedEd Staff.
    • Note: It’s better to ask for a “course correction” early than to realize your project doesn’t meet requirements during Phase 3.

Final Documentation: Re-submit your project summary to SSMApply, including the actual outcomes.

Taking your findings from your laptop to the professional community.

  • Dissemination (The Requirement): You must present your work in a professional forum. Options include:
    • SMPH Medical Education Day
    • Path of Distinction in Medical Education Learning Community session
    • A comparable national conference, local conference, or departmental Med Ed day.
  • The “No Double Dipping” Rule: This presentation must be distinct from any presentation used to satisfy another Path of Distinction (like PoD Research or Public Health).

Students in the Path of Distinction in Medical Education (PoD MedEd) will complete a required scholarly project. The project can be completed as a SMPH Shapiro Summer Research Project during the summer after the first year of medical school or as a 4-8 credit independent study elective during Phase 3. Students will work with a mentor to identify and complete a medical education project that includes education research or quality improvement. The project must involve the education of health professions students or practicing clinicians (e.g., medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students, residents, fellows, continuing medical education for practitioners, etc.). Please note that not all Shapiro Projects count as a PoD Med Ed scholarly project. If you are wanting to use a Shapiro Project for this purpose, please contact Katy Rosko so a director can ensure that your project meets the requirements.

Projects should be in an area of student interest and can span any number of topics in medical education including:

  • Curriculum Design
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Belonging
  • Teaching Methodologies
  • Assessment
  • Educational Policy
  • Educational Technology
  • Simulation

 

Current Available Projects (Google Sheet) These are scholarly medical education projects submitted by departments and faculty.

For examples of projects, please see our student resource page.

 

Requirements

Prior to beginning your project, students must submit a summary that includes the following components. This summary must be approved by PoD MedEd leadership.

  • Name of mentor and department
  • Project title
  • Research question
  • Project description
  • Project site/location
  • Your role in the project
  • Learning objectives
  • Intended outcomes
  • Signed student/mentor agreement form PDF (Submitted separately on SSMApply)

With your final application, you will re-submit an updated version of this project summary that includes your project’s actual outcomes. In addition, you will also need to submit verification that any necessary institutional approvals for research (e.g., IRB) have been obtained or exempted.

Students who are anticipating collaborating with other students on a project should reach out to Katy Rosko krosko@wisc.edu for additional guidance.

Projects are required to include a scholarly component that must be disseminated via presentation in a professional forum, such as the SMPH Medical Education Day, a session of the Medical Education Learning Community, or another comparable conference or departmental medical education day. This presentation must be distinct from any presentation that is being used to meet the requirements for another Path of Distinction (e.g., PoD Research, PoD Public Health, etc.).

*Note: The same Independent Study Elective may be used for both the Teaching Elective and Medical Education Project, if there is a substantial teaching and scholarly component to the proposed Independent Study plan. This Independent Study MUST be a minimum of 6 credits and the joint plan for the teaching component as well as the scholarly medical education project must be approved by a member of the PoD MedEd leadership.

All requirements should be submitted through SMApply

For any questions related to the program, please contact Katy Rosko at krosko@wisc.edu