As they develop plans for their Capstone Scholarship and Discovering Course projects, medical students at UMass Medical School can take advantage of a great resource, especially for those interested in research-oriented activities. The Ask the Expert sessions hosted by the Lamar Soutter Library provide a central, welcoming spot for students, faculty, and staff to get help with services including quantitative health statistics, expert searching and other essential research tools and methods.
An innovation of the School of Medicine’s Learner-centered Integrated Curriculum, the Capstone Scholarship and Discovery course allows students to apply principles of research and scholarship to examine, collect and analyze information and develop a formal presentation worthy of peer-review. Faculty mentors guide students throughout this work, which builds on the four-year curriculum.
Ask an Expert founders Allison Blodgett, PhD, assistant professor of nursing and director of IRB Operations, and Mary Piorun, PhD, director of library services, intend for the bimonthly sessions to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully meet their academic and research goals by strengthening their connection with the resources available to assist them.
Representatives of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Institutional Review Board, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, the Quantitative Methods Core, and library services, as well as capstone course representatives, will be on hand at upcoming Ask the Expert sessions. Typically scheduled on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month with stations throughout the library, upcoming sessions are taking place on Thursdays, Sept. 28, Oct. 12 and Oct. 26 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
