Fig. 19.1
The four domains of a successful student research program
The best mentors for students are actually other students and trainees. Every senior medical student working on research with residents likely wants to be a surgical house officer. Similarly, every undergraduate wants to be a first-year medical student. A large team of trainees ranging from undergraduate students to junior faculty offer the ideal infrastructure for this type of mentorship (Fig. 19.2). This is similar to how patient care happens on surgical services: the medical student does not go directly to the attending surgeon; there is a clear chain of command within the house officer ranks. Re-creating such a hierarchy within a student research group improves efficiency, career development, and reduces the amount of time the faculty must devote to nuanced project details.
Fig. 19.2
Student mentorship is collaborative and involves trainees from all levels of experience
Other specific attending-level efforts should include establishing a career development portfolio for students and trainees within their research group. This includes a catalog of previous successful student grants, applications, and CVs. It is invaluable for a first-year medical student to see the level of productivity that a successful fourth-year medical student has achieved. This establishes a standard for excellence early in their medical school career. The faculty mentor should specifically focus on teaching presentation and writing skills. Few students do these tasks well and modest effort can have a remarkable impact on the student’s success and confidence.
19.6 Effort by the Student
Students pursuing surgical outcomes research typically have little to no experience in the field. Good mentors recognize this and are able to structure projects that harness a blend of talents that are not teachable: intelligence and dedication. Within this context, it is important for students to develop their aptitude for research while participating in research projects. This is analogous to on-the-job training and it can produce unique skill-sets that will be valuable for your entire career in academic surgery or medicine.
To borrow a saying from one surgeon-mentor at our institution, “you should always be able to do the job of the person one level above you.” This is an excellent framework for students to guide their research skill development. As an undergraduate or pre-clinical student, you should be critically assessing what senior medical students contribute to projects and how this is different from your current role. Similarly, senior medical students should use house-officers as a metric for how their skills can improve. As a testament to the value of surgical outcomes research, these talents include research design, statistical analysis, scientific writing, and oral presentation.
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