Michigan State University

College of Osteopathic Medicine

Clerkship (OST-615)

Request for Research Credits During Clerkship OST 615

Research for Clerkship Credit (Years 3 and 4):

  • Students are permitted to request up to 12 weeks of research clerkship credits from the total of 34 weeks of selective/electives.
  • Research must involve active participation in a research project that is clinical or laboratory based. 
  • Patient chart review is an acceptable research project but a literature review based project is not.

Research credits cannot be approved after the project has been completed. All research carried out for credit must have prior approval from the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

Research projects carried out by a group (two or more students):

  • Each student must request approval for research credits individually describing the group research project and their role.
  • Applications for research credits and follow-up reports must be submitted individually by each member of the group.

Funding for OST 615:

  • The research advisor (principal investigator) of students enrolled in OST 615 are eligible to receive funding of $1,000 for advising COM students. 
  • The funding of $1,000 is specific for a single project per student for as long as the student is enrolled in OST 615 and is working on the same project. 
  • The funding will be sent to the Research advisor (principal investigator) after the student research has been approved by the Research Office and credits have been awarded for OST 615 research elective at the end of the enrolled semester. 
  • The research advisor (principal investigator) can receive maximum funding of $3,000 for advising three or more students, per academic year.

Procedure to Request Research Credit During Clerkship

After formalizing an agreement with a research mentor, students must request approval of the proposed research project from the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office for enrollment in OST 615 – Biomedical Research Clerkship 6-18 credits (4-12 weeks/40 hours per week of research effort is required). Research clerkships may not be done simultaneously with any other clerkship. Only formal requests to carry out research, which have been approved, will receive clerkship research credit. Any research carried out without prior approval will not receive credit. 

Any research project involving human subjects requires MSU IRB approval or a reliance agreement (for an external IRB). This process can take up to three months.

Research clerkship credits are received once the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office has received, reviewed and approved:

  1. The Student Report on Research
  2. The Research Mentor Student Evaluation

Before Beginning Clerkship Research OST 615

Step 1

Student must provide a research proposal. Complete the OST 615 Research Proposal Form and send to the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

Research proposal must include:

  • Study Title
  • Principal Investigator/Research Mentor
  • Significance and/or clinical impact of the research (~200 words):
  • Background and hypothesis (~200 words):
  • Approach/Study Design (~200 words):
  • Sample size, if applicable. Please include power analysis or state that your study is a pilot study to obtain preliminary data to measure normal and experimental variation, from which power analysis can be performed.
  • Aim(s) (~200 words):
    • Method:
    • Anticipated Results
  • Statistical analysis, if applicable (~200 words)
  • Beginning and ending dates of the project: typically one semester  
  • IRB Approval Obtained (human subjects research)
  • AUF Approval Obtained (animal research)
Step 2

Research mentor must provide a description of the project and details regarding the student’s role on the project including the source of funding for the project, if it is funded, and what funds if any, will be received for the student's participation in the project. This must be sent to the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

Step 3

Student must provide their resume or CV.

Step 4

Student or research mentor must provide the project's IRB Approval Letter for Human Subjects research. For projects with an external IRB, a MSU IRB reliance agreement must be obtained. This process can take up to three months. 

Step 5

Student must provide documentation certifying completion of MSU Human Research Protection Training if the research involves human subjects. Students receive a certificate of completion for this training and must provide an electronic copy to the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

Step 6

Student or research mentor must provide the project's AUF Approval Letter if the research involves animals.

Step 7

Student must provide documentation certifying completion of the IACUC tutorial if the research involves animals. Students receive a certificate of completion for this training and must provide an electronic copy to the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

After Completing Pre-clerkship Research OST 615

Step 1

Student must provide a report on the research. Provide a narrative report of one to two pages indicating what you did in qualitative and quantitative terms. Indicate the relevance of these findings to the hypothesis that the Investigator is addressing. In the light of your research, what in your opinion is the next step(s) in the research project? How many hours a week did you actually spend on the project? Student's must have their research mentor review and approve their final report before submitting it.  

Email your report to your research mentor. Once they approve it, please forward the report along with the mentor's approval to the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

Step 2

The research mentor must provide a student evaluation by email addressing the following questions:

  • Did the student actively participate in the research project you assigned him/her?
  • Did they carry out the research as you expected?
  • Did they put in the hours they had agreed to?
  • Were you satisfied with the student?
  • Will the student continue working with you in the upcoming semester?
  • Based on this experience, are you willing to have other medical students participate in short-term projects with you?    

Student’s receive credit at the end of the semester once the mentor approves the student report and once the research mentor evaluation is received, reviewed and approved by the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office.

College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office

Submit all materials to the College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Office at com.research@msu.edu.