RESEARCH IN - PRIMARY CARE AND LEADERSHIP TRACK

1-16.5 credits · School of Medicine

Course Director: Anh N. Tran, PhD, MPH. Overview: The Primary Care Leadership Track (PCLT) offers students committed to primary care an opportunity to develop skills needed for delivering equitable patient centered care in a community-engaged manner that improves, population health. Students explore the social drivers of and root causes of health disparities, develop a meaningful population health improvement research focus that incorporates community engagement and learn leadership skills useful in redesigning clinical programs to better serve patient needs at the individual and population levels. Curriculum: Research. The principal scholarly component of the PCLT is conducting translational research that has potential for population health improvement and incorporates community engagement in one or more phases of the research process (development, implementation, evaluation, and/or dissemination). Like their peers in other study program tracks, primary care leadership program students will explore a primary research question, find data to support or refute it, and write a thesis (or a grant or manuscript alternative) that communicates their results. The third year will have a 10-, 11- and 12-month option. Throughout the year, students will participate in a series of video-conference meetings, facilitated by the study program director, with other students in the PCLT study program to have an opportunity to engage in peer coaching and reflect on Third Year experiences, challenges and lessons learned. Other elective courses may be taken with the permission of the program director and the student's preceptor. Proposal: All students are expected to prepare a 1–2-page proposal by the end of spring of the second year outlining the aims of the proposed research in consultation with their mentor. The proposed research is to benefit both the existing research/project team with which the student is collaborating and the educational goals of the student. This proposal will state the problem to be studied, the rationale and relevance of the problem, and include a bibliography of relevant literature and sources. Posters: Students are expected to submit abstracts to present their project results in poster or oral format at a scholarly and/or community event. Final Thesis: Students will prepare a thesis that represents the product of their research, no more than 25 pages in length. This is due on the thesis deadline date set by the Registrar's Office. Students are also allowed to produce, instead, a manuscript or grant alternative, as outlined by the School of Medicine. Dual Degree Option: Yes, as long as it is population health improvement oriented.