Abstract
Background The ability to participate in clinical scholarship is a foundational component of
modern evidence-based medical practice, empowering improvement across essentially
every aspect of clinical care. In tandem, the need for comprehensive exposure to clinical
research has been identified as a critical component of medical student training and
preparation for residency that is underserved by traditional undergraduate medical
education models. The goal of the current work was to provide guidelines and recommendations
to assist novice medical students in taking ownership of their research education.
Methods The Clinical Research Primer was composed from pooled research documents compiled
by the study authors and our institutional neurosurgery student research group. The
Primer was then structured as the natural evolution of a research project from its
inception through the submission process.
Results We divided the foundational components of the Clinical Research Primer into seven
domains, each representing a landmark in the development of a peer-reviewed study,
and a set of skills critical for junior scholars to develop. These vital components
included the following: pitching and designing clinical studies, developing a research
workflow, navigating the Institutional Review Board, data collection and analysis,
manuscript writing and editing, submission mechanics, and tracking research projects
for career development.
Conclusion We anticipate that the tools included in the Clinical Research Primer will increase
student research productivity and preparedness for residency. Although our recommendations
are informed by our experiences within neurosurgery, they have been written in a manner
that should generalize to almost any field of clinical study.
Keywords
research - education - medical student - UME - USMLE
