Providing a Meaningful Virtual Research Laboratory Experience for Osteopathic Medical Students

Abstract

Modern medical education embraces the education of the student beyond patient-centered preparations, instilling the ability to assess and evaluate many categories of information. The International Association of Medical Science Educators’ (IAMSE) mission statement emphasizes that science is the basis for the practice of modern healthcare. Research and the ability to interpret and understand the research method are core competencies and Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) that all graduating medical students should be able to demonstrate. To meet student needs for research experience during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, in which the traditional in person research experience was not viable, the Virtual Research Laboratory (VRL) was designed as a three-part virtual experience in which laboratory technique webinars, journal club articles and laboratory data review would be interleaved weekly with a laboratory-relevant theme. All interactions were virtual and conducted via Google Meets platform, by email and document sharing/editing. The success and feasibility of the Virtual Research Lab were assessed via a survey covering the broad concepts of overall perception, communication and workflow, teamwork and peer mentoring, and adherence to proposed learning outcomes for the Virtual Research Lab. Overall, in each of these categories, the cohort feedback was positive at greater than 75% in each category. The strongest elements of the Virtual Research Lab were the organized teamwork/peer mentoring and the workflow/communication methods each scoring between 92% and 100% positive. We have demonstrated that the Virtual Research Lab is a meaningful experience by engaging and improving the student's gain, retention and applicability of research knowledge and critical thinking skills.