Conducting Research as a First-Year Medical Student

During the past twelve months, in response to COVID-19, there have been evolving societal expectations and values, including some transformations in academic health sciences education and training to ensure that those graduating from medical school will be better equipped to deal with the demands of modern medicine and further education.The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine has immersed its students in research early to develop physicians who are life-long learners capable of critical inquiry and in medical information literacy to produce physicians suited for patient-centric care.Through self-directed discovery, students develop skills needed to understand and use evidence-based approaches for basic and clinical research. An important aspect of conducting research is identifying a core topic, which can be aligned to a specific theme or from topics discussed in coursework. The students are working closely with mentors they chose, course directors, and faculty who can provide collaborative guidance on these interest areas for students to develop scholarly research.The study (The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions on Caregivers of Individuals with Dementia) used qualitative methods comprising of structured interview questions. The findings show that, despite a world-wide pandemic and the demands of beginning the first year of one's medical education, it is possible to effectively engage in scholarly evidence-based research.Medical schools need to ensure that students are provided with early exposure to environments that allow for the exploration of meaningful interactions by increasing opportunities to 'stand in' to the role of a researcher, even as students.