The development of a mandatory medical thesis in an urban medical school.
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to describe the development of a primary care medical student's thesis.


METHODS
In 1995, as part of its primary care clerkship, the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (Drew University), College of Medicine created a curriculum requiring medical students to develop, design, and implement a research project during their 2-year longitudinal clinical experience. For this study, we reviewed all student research projects generated between 1995 and 2004.


RESULTS
Among the 112 research projects, topics covered included internal medicine (29.5%), obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN; 22%), psychosocial issues (20.5%), pediatrics (9%), public health/epidemiology (8%), medical education (8%), and surgery (3%). Mentors included faculty from internal medicine (16%), dean's office (16%), pediatrics (13%), family medicine (11%), non-Drew faculty (10%), OBGYN (9%), psychiatry (9%), surgery (9%), emergency medicine (4%), and pathology/radiology departments (3%). The students' survey showed that 83% agreed that the mentors were valuable, 72% admitted that their knowledge about the research process was improved, about 50% indicated that they were more competitive during residency application, and 80% claimed that they obtained satisfaction from accomplishing a goal.


CONCLUSIONS
Students are able to conduct and present a primary care research project as a requirement of their medical training. Most students find the experience beneficial and positive.
Ogunyemi
Dotun
D
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science/UCLA Medical School Program, Los Angeles, California, USA. dogunye@cdrewu.edu
Bazargan
Mohsen
M
Norris
Keith
K
Jones-Quaidoo
Sean
S
Wolf
Kenneth
K
Edelstein
Ronald
R
Baker
Richard S
RS
Calmes
Daphne
D
D004212:Academic Dissertations as Topic; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008511:Medicine; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012106:Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013038:Specialization; D013337:Students, Medical; D014505:Urban Population