Research Overview
The research process enables you to develop organizational, basic science, and clinical knowledge, along with helping you build critical thinking skills that result in enhanced learning and improved patient care. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has published a set of competency domains for physicians, called the Physician Competency Reference Set (PCRS). This page outlines eight critical competencies for all physicians. Research skills are an important part of those competencies. KansasCOM is committed to developing medical students into competent practitioners in each of these areas.
Physicians see patients whose health is often driven by biopsychosocial factors. Physicians treat not only individual patients, but influence health outcomes for communities. Therefore, health care practitioners must have competency with epidemiology and community health.
Student Research
For competitive specialties, students must begin planning early to engage in research that contributes to the literature in a meaningful way. At KansasCOM, our students will learn the principles of epidemiology, population health, research methods, and statistical science to enable them to engage in this early research. Our students will grow as scholar-practitioners who have the opportunity to work with our talented faculty or engage with practitioners in the field as they tackle research projects that have impact on the lives of patients and communities.
Through the Kansas Education and Research Network (KERN), our students will have the opportunity to engage in research activities that physicians lead across the state and the entire service area of KHSU. KERN is a Practice Based Research Network where practices come together to utilize clinical and social sciences to better understand health care events and improve health care outcomes for the communities they serve. KERN is centered in primary care practice and issues that affect the health and well-being of Kansans and Kansas health care providers.
Research at KansasCOM
Students will develop skills in scholarly activity including poster presentation, paper presentation, and publication. Students and faculty will be invited to participate in the annual KansasCOM research forum and will be provided the opportunity to interact with community researchers and submit their work to regional and national meetings.
A special area of research interest is osteopathic medicine. Faculty and students are encouraged to participate in studies that demonstrate optimal osteopathic educational methods and the integration of osteopathic principles and practice in daily patient care.
Students who wish to enhance their research experience will have opportunities to work with community researchers and participate in elective rotations in research. Students will be encouraged through individualized mentoring and technical assistance. KansasCOM educational resources provide additional support to students as they develop research skills.
