Frequently Asked Questions

 Who can be a project mentor?

• Any faculty member can be a mentor. However, students who work with a mentor who does not hold a UWSOM appointment must also have a faculty co-mentor who does hold a UWSOM appointment in the event support is needed. Fellows and residents are not eligible to be a research mentor.

What is the III Scholarship Requirement timeline?

 Who will contact me?

• Students from any of our WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) campuses will contact you to meet either in person, by phone, or by Zoom. We highly encourage you to consider students from all campuses. For those who will need to move for the summer to work with you, we provide the student a relocation fund to assist with this process.

How do I choose a student?

• Once you have had the chance to meet with a student, please let them know as soon as possible if you will take them on as a mentee. This will help them find other opportunities in case your project is not a good fit for them. Please confirm this working relationship by email, even if you have met in person. Students have until December 31 to contact you.

What are student expectations?

• Students will engage in their projects for 9 weeks over the Summer 2021 term, for 30 hours per week. Please be aware that they will concurrently be studying for Step 1 of boards over the summer, which is why the commitment is under 40 hours per week. Projects must reach a point by the end of the summer where the student can
  • For Scholarship of Discovery: Present their results at the Medical Student III Poster Session which occurs during Autumn Quarter 2021.
  • For Scholarship of Integration: Submit a final paper meeting acceptable criteria (here) by October 1, 2021.

What are faculty expectations?

• More detail can be found here. In brief, in addition to guiding students in their summer research projects, Faculty Mentors are also expected to:
  • Help the student write a short Project Proposal. Proposals are 3 pages long and must demonstrate that the project can be completed within 9 weeks and include a statement from you confirming your willingness to mentor them in the process. Proposal guidelines can be found here. The Project Proposals are due March 1, 2021.
  • If IRB or IACUC approval is needed, please ensure this is completed prior to June so the student may immediately start on their work. IRB or IACUC delays could result in the student not being able to complete their scholarly requirement in order to graduate. If this is the case, please ensure an alternative project is available.
  • For students doing a research project (Scholarship of Discovery), provide guidance and feedback to help the student create their Poster Presentation for the Medical Student III Poster Session in the Fall.
  • For students doing a literature review project (Scholarship of Integration), to provide feedback on the student’s Final Paper prior to submission.

Is there a limit to how many students a faculty member can mentor?

• No, however, each student must have their own discrete project. Project proposals describing the same work as another student will not be accepted.

What is an acceptable student project?

• Students are expected to have a clearly defined role that allows them to make an intellectual contribution to the project. This is especially important for students who will be doing a sub-project within a larger project. The student will work with you to write a project proposal that clearly defines the student’s discrete project for which they are personally responsible. Due to the short time period, students cannot be solely responsible for IRB submission, nor expected to learn a new program such as STATA.

Am I required to provide a student stipend?

• No. Mentors are welcome but not required to provide a student stipend. For students who move from one WWAMI site to another to conduct research, a relocation fund will be provided by UWSOM. Thus, we strongly encourage faculty members to consider working with students from the entire region.

Where can I find the link to submit a project description?

• Click here.  If you have multiple projects that you would like to submit, please feel free to email descriptions to Rachel Liao, III Education Specialist, somiii@uw.edu.