III Scholarship Start Here

E23 Orientation Recording here, PowerPoint slides here, Q&A here. *to access links please sign into your UWNetid*

Welcome!

The purpose of the Independent Investigative Inquiry (III) courses, Scholarship Requirement for UWSOM requirement is to engage students in activities that will foster the skills of life-long learning essential for practicing physicians.

Required Courses for UWSOM graduation requirement:

MEDSCI 501, Independent Investigative Inquiry, 6 credits:

  • This is a 1 of 2 hyphenated course to complete your III requirement, registration will be during the summer.

MEDSCI 503, Independent Investigative Inquiry Final Project , 1 credit:

  • This is a 2 of 2 hyphenated course to wrap up or present your III requirement. Registration will be during the fall and will be concluded by turning in your final paper or presenting your scholarly work at the poster session.

Tuition varies by foundation sites, please check here for cost of attendance. Contact SOM Financial Aid at somfao@uw.edu if you have any questions.

By participating in the Triple I courses, you will:

  • Develop the skills to acquire and critically evaluate new information
  • Focus on a health-related issue in depth, thereby giving additional context to your training and career as a physician
  • Learn through faculty mentorship
  • Communicate and disseminate the results of your scholarly work

Scholarship comes in many forms. For some, it is hypothesis-driven through research in fields such as basic science, clinical research, or health services. For others, it is work that synthesizes and gives meaning to a body of prior knowledge, resulting in a literature review. And for others, it is work to promote the uptake of interventions that have proven effective into routine practice, with the aim of improving population health.

The UW School of Medicine offers the unique opportunity for students to choose both the content and form of their scholarship and to pursue an interest that may not be found elsewhere in the curriculum. Students will select a project of interest and execute their scholarly work under the guidance of a Faculty Mentor over the Summer term between years one and two of medical school.

Every student must participate in one of the four Triple I programs . Each offers a different type of scholarly experience and each has its own application process, requirements, and deadlines. For more information on each III program, see below and their corresponding websites.

Scholarship of Discovery is empirical research in which new discoveries are made through original investigation. Students in this program do a range of projects in any field related to medicine, including basic science, clinical research, health services research, quality improvement, and everything in between. We have Faculty Mentors throughout WWAMI who engage in research and are eager to mentor students at any of our Foundation Sites. The project can be initiated by the student or by a Faculty Mentor, as long as the student has an independent role and makes an intellectual contribution to the project. Students selecting this program can expect to learn the steps and rationale in trying to resolve an empirical question through data collection and analysis. Their project will culminate in a poster presentation at the annual Medical Student III Poster Session held every Fall quarter at their Foundations Site. More information about the Scholarship of Discovery option can be found here.

Contact

Students who choose Scholarship of Integration complete a systematic literature review to answer an unresolved scientific question relevant to medicine. Alternatively, students can complete a systematic literature review to analyze an issue in medicine or to perform a historical investigation. In the process, they work with our Health Sciences Librarian to learn to effectively search medical databases and are guided by a Faculty Mentor as they interpret studies and synthesize this information to draw a conclusion.

Examples of prior medical student literature reviews include:

  • The Efficacy of Yoga Interventions in Reducing Salivary Cortisol in Adults: A Literature Review
  • Communication in the Interpreted Medical Encounter, with a Focus on Rapport Development: A Review of Study Design
  • Innovations in Professional Identity Formation: A Review of Curriculum in Undergraduate Medical Education

This III program culminates in a Final Paper due in September/October after the Summer term. Students in this program are welcome to present a poster of their work at the Fall 2023 Medical Student III Poster Session held at their Foundations Site, but this is not a requirement. More information about the Scholarship of Integration option can be found here.

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An experience-driven investigation of an issue will be developed by the student while participating in the Rural Underserved Opportunities Program (RUOP).  During their four-week rotation, students live in rural or urban underserved communities throughout Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. They work side-by-side with local physicians providing health care to underserved populations. Students will closely observe health care in a community setting, then develop a project based on those observations. The project can take several forms, including a community needs assessment, a plan for a community health intervention, or evaluation of a service delivery project.

Contact

An experience-driven investigation of an issue will be developed by the student while participating in the Global Health Immersion Program (GHIP). This III program is for students with a strong interest in global health and underserved communities and is particularly suited to students on the Global Health Pathway. Students spend 8 weeks at a UW-affiliated partner site in a developing country and are supported by local site faculty and by the GHIP Faculty Director, who is based in Seattle. GHIP students work with local partners to understand social determinants of health, conduct a community needs assessment, and devise and implement a project to improve the health of local communities.

Contact

 

E-23 Orientation from Oct 4th, 2023, is Now Available 

  • Click here  to watch the E-23 III Orientation recording
  • Click here to read the Power Point from the E-23 III Orientation Session

General III Contact Information

  • For general questions about the III Scholarship Requirement, contact Meaghan O’Gilvie, III Education Specialist at somiii@uw.edu.

***Website updated on 11/01/2023*** Please continue to monitor webpages, and check UW e-mail for announcements from somiii@uw.edu

III Scholarship Requirement