title: The development of a mandatory medical thesis in an urban medical school.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science/UCLA Medical School Program, Los Angeles, California, USA. dogunye@cdrewu.edu
authors.forename: Dotun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ogunyemi
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bazargan
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Norris
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jones-Quaidoo
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edelstein
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Daphne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Calmes
mesh_terms: 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