Development of a Mandatory Research Scholarship Course at a New Medical School in Miami, Florida

Research training for undergraduate medical students provides skills to introduce them to the practice of patient-oriented research. However, mandatory research training for students is hindered by sustainability and limitations on didactic time within a curriculum. We created the Research Scholarship Course consisting of eight sequential steps which may be completed as an ongoing activity during the first 3 years or during an 8-week rotation in the fourth year. To date, students have rated the course highly. Future research is needed to determine how the research skills gained during this course translate to long-term knowledge retention and application in the clinical setting.