Student Participation in Research

Purpose: This policy establishes guidelines and structure to support and promote student engagement in research and research education. 

Definitions: For the purpose of this policy the term “student” refers to any osteopathic medical student and “faculty” refers to WCUCOM personnel with a faculty appointment. 

Procedures

Prior to any research activity:

• Prior to beginning any scholarly activity, OMS-I and OMS-II students should meet with the Director of Student Research and OMS-III and OMS-IV students should meet with the Associate Dean of Research to verify the student is in good academic standing and to discuss research opportunities that are available.

• The current curriculum ensures that research education will be provided to students in the preclinical years to promote understanding and awareness of responsible conduct, confidentiality, vulnerable subjects, research ethics, basic biostatistics, research design, case reports, etc. Opportunities to apply research techniques occur in the Introduction to Clinical Scholarship Course during OMS 3.

• OMS-I Students are eligible to meet with the Director of Student Research after successful completion of their first set of integrated exams.

• Students are not allowed to initiate research during OMS-II as preparing for Board Exams is the priority. 

• Students planning an OMS-III or OMS-IV Research Elective Rotation should request the required paperwork from the Director of Clinical Education no later than three months prior to the start date of the research elective rotation block. Then the student will schedule an appointment with the Associate Dean of Research to discuss potential projects. The schedule (block) must be approved by the student’s rotations counselor.

• All students and faculty involved in research must have completed all required research certification training appropriate for the research project. At a minimum, CITI training in Responsible Conduct of Research and Human Subjects Protections are required. Additional courses in information security, privacy protection, biosafety, etc., may also be required for specific projects.

• Research involving human subjects must be reviewed by the WCU IRB and have current IRB approval before the project begins.  Students must identify the Faculty Advisor or Research Mentor on the IRB application in order to be designated as a primary investigator. If a student project is an extension of an IRB-approved study protocol, the PI must request an ammendment to the protocol so the student is added to the protocol. If the student is engaging in research outside of WCU, they must provide IRB approval documentation from the organization or institution’s IRB that approved the study protocol initially. If a project lasts longer than one year, an IRB protocol extension may also be necessary.

• Students participating in a faculty-initiated research project should have a clear agreement with their faculty mentor on mutual expectations, particularly with regard to time and effort required, authorship on presentations and publications, and confidentiality of data, research subjects, and other novel aspects of the research.

At the completion of any research activity:

• At the completion of a research project students are strongly encouraged to present their work in appropriate venues, including WCUCOM Summer Research Symposium and at state medical conferences, and to publish where appropriate.  

• Citations of any presentations, publications, or other forms of project dissemination must be reported to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.