Path of Distinction in Medical Education

Medical Education Project Mentor Guide 

The following guide is meant to help you in your mentorship of a student in a medical education scholarship project as part of their completion of the Path of Distinction in Medical Education (PoD Med Ed). It describes the general requirements of the medical education project as part of the Pod Med Ed and the responsibilities of the mentor. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.  

Med Ed Project Description 

The project can be completed as a Shapiro 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.). 

Projects should be in an area of student interest and can span any number of topics in medical education including (but not limited to): 

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

Submit your potential projects here:

 

Current Available Projects

Requirements 

Prior to beginning the 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 
  • The students’ role in the project 
  • Learning objectives for the student (Will they learn about conducting literature reviews, data collection techniques, data analysis, curriculum development, etc.?) 
  • Intended outcomes of the project 
  • Signed student/mentor agreement form 

Students are required to present their project results via presentation in a professional forum, such as the SMPH Medical Education Day, a session of the Medical Education Learning Community, or another departmental medical education day, or a regional or national conference. 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.). Publication is encouraged but not required to receive the distinction in medical education. 

With their final PoD Med Ed application, students will re-submit an updated version of the project summary that includes the project’s actual outcomes. In addition, students will also need to submit verification that any necessary institutional approvals for research (e.g., IRB) have been obtained or exempted. They will also submit a copy of their presentation. 

Mentor Responsibilities 

Students and mentors will collaborate on project development, and mentors should approve the project proposal before it is submitted to the PoD Med Ed team for review and approval.  

Faculty mentors are responsible for:  

  • commenting on and approving the proposal. 
  • establishing shared expectations with their mentees for their project experience. 
  • ensuring students receive appropriate compliance training.  
  • adding students to their IRB application and any other relevant protocols.  
  • establishing regular meeting times with students. 
  • getting students access to any resources necessary to complete the project, e.g., departmental computers, data analysis software, etc. 
  • ensuring that students are in contact with any collaborators/stakeholders required to implement the project (e.g., access curricula, data and analysis, contact participants, etc.) and expectations are clearly stated and agreed upon. 
  • helping students identify an appropriate local, regional, or national meeting at which to present the outcomes of their project. 
  • helping students to finish and present their projects by the PoD MedEd application deadline (July 1st to appear on residency applications or March 1st of graduation year to award at graduation). 

Additional mentorship resources: