Exposure to ACGME Core Competencies through Mentored Basic Science Research: A Pilot Analysis

Since 1998, the Short-Term Training Program (STTP) at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles has nearly tripled (from 30 to 89) in the number of first-year undergraduate medical students participants. STTP supports mentored research projects in the areas of basic sciences, clinical sciences, medical education, and public health (local and international). Although projects can be very specific in scope, the overall experience in STTP exposes students to some, if not all, of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) six core competencies–-Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-based Learning and Improvement, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, and Systems-based Practice. Thus, STTP has been an important aspect of medical education to prepare our students for residency programs. We describe and analyze the STTP as a model system to introduce the ACGME core competencies at an early point in undergraduate medical education. We conclude with a call to provide more mentored anatomical sciences basic and clinically applied research opportunities