Residency Program Directors' Views on Research Conducted During Medical School: A National Survey.

PURPOSE: With the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 transition to pass/fail in 2022, uncertainty exists regarding how other residency application components, including research conducted during medical school, will inform interview and ranking decisions. The authors explore program director (PD) views on medical student research, the importance of disseminating that work, and the translatable skill set of research participation. METHOD: Surveys were distributed to all U.S. residency PDs and remained open from August to November 2021 to query the importance of research participation in assessing applicants, whether certain types of research were more valued, productivity measures that reflect meaningful research participation, and traits for which research serves as a proxy. The survey also queried whether research would be more important without a numeric Step 1 score and the importance of research vs other application components. RESULTS: A total of 885 responses from 393 institutions were received. Ten PDs indicated that research is not considered when reviewing applicants, leaving 875 responses for analysis. Among 873 PDs (2 nonrespondents), 358 (41.0%) replied that meaningful research participation will be more important in offering interviews. A total of 164 of 304 most competitive specialties (53.9%) reported increased research importance compared with 99 of 282 competitive (35.1%) and 95 of 287 least competitive (33.1%) specialties. PDs reported that meaningful research participation demonstrated intellectual curiosity (545 [62.3%]), critical and analytical thinking skills (482 [55.1%]), and self-directed learning skills (455 [52.0%]). PDs from the most competitive specialties were significantly more likely to indicate that they value basic science research vs PDs from the least competitive specialties. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates how PDs value research in their review of applicants, what they perceive research represents in an applicant, and how these views are shifting as the Step 1 exam transitions to pass/fail.

Medical School Without Walls: 50 Years of Regional Campuses at Indiana University School of Medicine.

The history of Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) dates to 1871, when Indiana Medical College entered into an affiliation with Indiana University in Bloomington to offer medical education. In 1971, the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill to create and fund a distributed model for medical education for which IUSM was responsible, an innovative approach to implementing a statewide medical education program. IUSM became one of the first U.S. medical schools to implement what is today known as a regional medical campus model. This regional medical campus system has permitted IUSM to expand enrollment based on national and local concerns about physician shortages, increase access to care locally, support expansion of graduate medical education, and provide opportunities for research and scholarship by faculty and students statewide. This effort was made possible by partnerships with other universities and health care systems across the state and the support of local community and state leaders. The model is a forward-thinking and cost-effective way to educate physicians for service in the state of Indiana and is applicable to others. This article highlights milestones in IUSM's 50-year history of regional medical education, describes the development of the regional medical campus model, recognizes significant achievements over the years, shares lessons learned, and discusses considerations for the future of medical education.