Medical Student Training in Aging and Injury Research

Project Summary/ Abstract The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Medical Student Training in Aging and Injury Research is a 10- 12-week summer research training program with the goal of training 12 medical students per year in aging and injury prevention research during the summer between their first and second years. The long-term goal is

to increase the pool of students who will pursue and apply aging research, with an emphasis on the risks for and impact of injury through the life stages. The experience focuses on risk factors and outcomes associated with injury, and research aimed at improving safety, health and quality of life for older individuals.

Specific objectives are to: 1) provide early exposure to injury research at a critical time in medical students’ career decision-making; 2) increase medical student knowledge regarding current investigative frontiers in injury prevention, treatment and policy; 3) train students to apply a “geriatrics approach” in their research,

therapy and injury control efforts, emphasizing the special risks, needs and circumstances of the elderly; and 4) to stimulate and sustain medical students’ interest in research, injury control and aging by providing on- going connection to the scientific community and future research pursuits throughout medical school training.

Trainees collaborate with experienced research faculty and research teams on aging research and injury- related projects relevant to aging and the aged, such as falls prevention, neuromuscular and cognitive function, depression/ suicide, toxicology, patient safety, chronic disease management and quality of

life after trauma. Faculty mentors bring expertise across the spectrum of Translational Science, from the laboratory to clinical, community-based, and population health research, making it unique among MCW’s funded research training programs. Students will participate in enrichment activities including: 1) seminars

offered to all summer research students, including training in ethical conduct in research, career development and presentation skills; 2) weekly core seminars on injury and injury prevention across the lifespan, with attention to the special needs and considerations of the elderly, including Falls, Abuse, Poisonings, the System

of Care for trauma; 3) clinical experiences related to injury prevention, such as home safety and functional assessments, 4) presentation of their work at an Annual Medical Student Research Poster Day; and 5) continued research through on-going mentorship, our required longitudinal Scholarly Pathways program, and

an optional Research Honors track. The program builds on a highly successful institutional summer research program infrastructure, and strong collaborations among MCW’s Comprehensive Injury Center and Center for Advancement of Population Science, the Medicine Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Departments of Family and Community

Medicine, Emergency Medicine and Surgery, and affiliated faculty from basic, social and clinical sciences to address injury prevention at every level, in a rich, collaborative learning environment.