Mentorship of preclinical medical students in family planning research
Abortion
Awarded 2015
Midcareer/Mentor Grants
Kristina Tocce, MD, MPH
University of Colorado
$80,000

The mentorship of medical students is vital to the future of family planning research, advocacy and training the next generation of abortion providers. Most previous publications have focused on a clinical family planning curriculum for medical students in their third and fourth years of medical school. In this mid-career mentorship project, I will focus on programs for preclinical medical students (1st and 2nd years). By utilizing a multi-faceted approach, I will capitalize on students’ enthusiasm for family planning before they begin to commit to other fields. They will receive longitudinal mentoring, which will maximize the likelihood that they will succeed at family planning research in their future careers. The Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) chapter at the University of Colorado will be reinvigorated and expanded to include research-focused programs. This increased visibility will allow me to establish an application process. Selected student-researchers will complete a research curriculum and design their own studies. I will guide them through all phases of their work and manuscript preparation, as I have previously for residents and students during their clinical years. Measurements of program success at the conclusion of the 24-month grant period will include: increased number of preclinical students involved in MSFC and the research application process, manuscript acceptance for publication prior to students’ graduation from medical school, and publication of the mentoring curriculum in educational resources (such as MedEdPORTAL).