Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to establish 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.
Prior to any research activity:
Prior to beginning any scholarly activity, the student should meet with the Director of Student Research to confirm the student is in good academic standing and to discuss research opportunities that are available.
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 and includes gaining experience with statistical packages and data analysis.
OMS-1 Students are eligible to meet with the Director of Student Research after successful completion of their first set of integrated exams.
Students are discouraged from initiating research during OMS-2 as preparing for Board Exams is the first priority.
Students planning an OMS3 or OMS4 Research Elective Rotation should initiate the required paperwork with Dr. Woodland, Senior Rotations Counselor at cwoodland@wmcarey.edu no later than three months prior to the start date of the research elective rotation block.
All students and faculty involved in research must have completed all required research certification training appropriate for their research project. At a minimum, the CITI training courses in Responsible Conduct of Research and the Clinical and Biomedical Researchers-Basic/Refresher Course are required. Additional courses in information security, privacy protection, biosafety, etc., may 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 may not be designated as primary investigators without a documented Research Faculty Advisor or Research Mentor listed on the IRB application. If a student project is an extension of an already IRB approved research project, the PI must correspond with the IRB chair concerning the appropriate protocol modifications. If the student is engaging in research outside of WCU, they must provide IRB approval documentation for the study from the organization’s 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 in 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 a written summary of the project must be provided. In cooperation with the Research Faculty Advisor / Research Mentor, 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.
No matter the length of the research project, when a project concludes, students and faculty must provide a written summary of the project. If the project is presented or published, a copy will be accepted in lieu of a written summary.
Travel to national meetings:
Funding is available on a competitive basis for student travel.
The student must complete the application for the WCUCOM Student Travel Award and the appropriate documentation requests must be submitted.
Students must follow the student handbook policies, gain appropriate approvals, and be in good academic and professional standing.
Poster preparation costs
WCUCOM will pay reasonable costs to reimburse the printing of all student research posters being prepared for conference presentation. See the conference poster page for details and restrictions.
Publication costs
Any funding of publication costs is borne by the primary institution of the Principal Investigator. If the PI is a WCUCOM student or faculty member, they should consult with the Associate Dean of Research before selecting an appropriate journal for publication.
Summer research support
OMS1 students are strongly encouraged to seek significant health-related summer research experiences of 6-8 weeks in duration. Students obtaining exceptional summer research opportunities but in need of financial assistance related to travel and subsistence should complete the WCUCOM Summer Research Fellowship application. Instructions and requirements are included with the application form.