Hartford Hospital offers opportunities for pre-med college students to become involved in and gain experience conducting research.
The Summer Student Pre-Med and Research Program offers a unique clinical research opportunity for 3rd year college students pursuing careers in medicine.
The program is designed exclusively for pre-medical students (who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents) completing their junior year in college. It offers the student an introduction to research methodology, patient treatment, and ethical issues in medicine as well as exposure to a broad spectrum of health care providers within a large community teaching hospital.
Close Supervision
The Medical Staff supports the Program through financial contributions to program expenses and through its participation as senior investigators and student mentors. As regulatory requirements have expanded for conducting clinical research studies the Research Administration Department has joined in providing oversight of the pre-med and research program.
Research investigations are conducted under the guidance of full-time physicians in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Medicine (including the Divisions of Ambulatory Care, Cardiology, Epidemiology and Infectious Disease), Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology (Perinatology), Oncology and Surgery (Transplantation and Vascular Surgery), Fetal Maternal Medicine, Urology, Surgery (Trauma, Transplantation and Vascular) and Respiratory Care.
Projects and Presentations
Students selected for the Program engage in an assigned clinically-related investigative project within a department division suited to their medical and scientific interests and educational qualifications. At the conclusion of the ten-week period, each student must submit a printed report of the completed project and complete a poster presentation summary of the investigation on the final day of the Program.
Two students each week share in the development and organization of one seminar which may include recruitment of local resource speakers. These weekly seminars afford an opportunity to evaluate physician/hospital related social, ethical, legal and economic issues and to provide a general introduction to the physician’s role in relation to the patient, hospital and community.
Each student is given the opportunity to observe ambulatory and inpatient diagnosis and treatment procedures in a variety of specialty settings, to be exposed to different physician specialist role models and to interact with medical students and residents. Students will also be given the opportunity to mentor high school students.
Hartford Hospital is a non-profit, 867-bed hospital which treats approximately 40,000 inpatients in addition to an outpatient visit volume of 95,000. It has a major affiliation with the University of Connecticut Health Center in undergraduate and graduate medical education. It conducts 28 clinical educational programs for third and fourth year medical students and 42 programs in graduate medical education at the residency and fellowship levels. Full and part-time medical staff support the hospital’s educational programs where commitment to research and education is inseparable from the hospital’s role in patient care.
Announcement
All decisions regarding candidates will be announced in early April, 2016. The criteria used for selecting a participant are:
- Pre-medical college student completing their junior year by May, 2016
- College grades (GPA 3.5 or higher)
- Participation in leadership/service activities at school and in the community, as well as interests conveyed to the interviewer at the time of the scheduled interview
Award
Sixteen positions are awarded annually to qualified pre-medical students who will have completed their junior year of college in the spring. The award for the ten-week Program is $2,200.
Parking and dormitory housing is provided as needed.
Application
Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Summer Student Pre-Med & Research Program. Applicants must be pre-med students (who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents) completing their junior year of college as of May, 2016. The deadline for the receipt of completed applications is February 5, 2016. The dates of the 10-week research program are June 6 through August 12, 2016.
A completed application must be received by the Office of the Program Director, Rosemarie Portal by February 5, 2016. ALL documents must be submitted in one packet. A complete application consists of the following:
- Application form with essay (why you want to participate in the Program; what you hope to contribute to and learn from the Program)
- Official transcript
- Two confidential letters of recommendation from college professors
- A 2x2 passport type photo (used in the hospital newspaper in the event you become a participant)
Completed applications will be reviewed and qualified candidates will be invited for an interview. Interviews will be scheduled between January 11-March 23, 2016 and the awards will be announced in early April, 2016.
Download the Application Form
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