Varela Samantha, Schmidt Meic H, Bowers Christian A
Department of Neurosurgery, University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH), Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Bowers Neurosurgical Frailty and Outcomes Data Science Lab, Sandy, UT, USA.
World Neurosurg X. 2024 Mar 13;23:100364. doi: 10.1016/j.wnsx.2024.100364. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Neurological surgery remains one of the most competitive specialties with a match rate of <70%. Historically, medical student performance was gauged through the USMLE Step 1. However, with the recent exam score change, metrics such as recommendation letters, research, and clerkship grades carry increased importance. Research experiences vary greatly between institutions and medical students depend on faculty/resident mentorship in order to facilitate scholarly activity. We previously reported our 2-year intensive research initiative (IRI) in a neurosurgery program. Here we report successful implementation of the IRI in a disparate setting, a department devoid of residents, and demonstrate the IRI's reproducibility with non-resident learners.
MATERIALS & METHODS: We compared retrospective data from 2007 to 2020 with the IRI's results during the 2-year study period (July 2020-July 2022).
The IRI resulted in a rapid exponential increase in publications, with medical student led peer-reviewed publications (PRPs) increasing 1000% and pre-residency fellow (PRF) PRPs increasing by 4900%. Learner involvement on PRPs pre-IRI was 31%, increasing to 72% post-IRI implementation.
We present the IRI's success increasing academic productivity despite utilizing only non-resident learners. Students underrepresented in medicine and those at non-tier 1 institutions receive unequal research and clinical opportunities, therefore, prioritizing and providing sufficient opportunities/mentorship is crucial in their success in matching into competitive specialties. Our IRI allows for early faculty/resident student mentorship and gives students more flexibility as it allows medical students at varying stages to participate in research with no set time frame.
神经外科仍然是竞争最为激烈的专业之一，匹配率低于70%。历史上，医学生的表现是通过美国医师执照考试第一步（USMLE Step 1）来衡量的。然而，随着最近考试分数的变化，推荐信、研究经历和临床实习成绩等指标的重要性日益增加。不同机构的研究经历差异很大，医学生依赖教师/住院医师的指导来促进学术活动。我们之前报告了我们在一个神经外科项目中的为期两年的强化研究计划（IRI）。在此，我们报告了IRI在一个不同的环境中成功实施的情况，该科室没有住院医师，并展示了IRI在非住院医师学习者中的可重复性。
我们将2007年至2020年的回顾性数据与为期两年的研究期间（2020年7月至2022年7月）IRI的结果进行了比较。
IRI导致出版物数量迅速呈指数级增长，医学生主导的同行评审出版物（PRP）增加了1000%，住院医师前研究员（PRF）的PRP增加了4900%。IRI实施前学习者参与PRP的比例为31%，实施后增加到72%。
我们展示了IRI在仅利用非住院医师学习者的情况下提高学术生产力方面的成功。在医学领域代表性不足的学生以及非一流机构的学生获得的研究和临床机会不平等，因此，优先考虑并提供足够的机会/指导对于他们成功进入竞争激烈的专业至关重要。我们的IRI允许早期的教师/住院医师对学生进行指导，并给予学生更大的灵活性，因为它允许不同阶段的医学生在没有固定时间框架的情况下参与研究。
