The Department has several educational opportunities for medical students

• The Emphasis Program

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine initiated the Emphasis Program in 2004 in order to provide all medical students with the opportunity to pursue scholarly and leadership activities through immersion in one of nine focus areas, including biomedical informatics, community health, education, health research and management, international health, laboratory-based biomedical research, law, medical humanities, and patient-oriented research. The program, extending over 18 months including one summer with stipend support, allows students to select a focus area and mentor, implement a project, and present their results by the end of their second year of medical school. Several Emphasis Program students have chosen to complete biomedical informatics projects mentored by DBMI faculty. To learn more about the Biomedical Informatics focus area in the Emphasis Program see here.

• Short-term internship positions

Goal: The goal of our short-term internship for medical students is to combine the student’s clinical interest with an information technology experience during medical school. The internships expose medical students to the field of biomedical informatics through faculty-mentored projects that apply information technology to address health care challenges. These projects result in a final report and presentation. Through seminars and self-study, students also gain a general introduction to the field.

Duration: 3 months

Prerequisites: A background in programming and a moderate understanding of using computer technology is an advantage. The specific prerequisites for a research project will be addressed by the faculty mentor.

Funding: A limited number of funded internship positions are available through our National Library of Medicine training grant. Medical students from under-represented racial and ethnic groups (Black or African-American, Native Americans and Alaskan Indians, Hispanic, Hawaiian Native or Pacific Islander) and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds may apply for these funded internship positions. In addition, qualified students may apply for departmental funding.

Apply now! Applications are due February 15, 2008.

• Elective year during medical school

Goal: The goal of an elective biomedical informatics rotation is to provide medical students with an in-depth understanding of one biomedical informatics research area. In addition, this elective should allow the student to explore whether a career in biomedical informatics aligns with their long-term career goals. Students will learn how to approach and work on a research question. Usually, some course-work will support the student’s understanding of the chosen research area and enhance their learning experience. The research projects will be supervised by one of our faculty members and will lead to publication in peer-reviewed literature.

Duration: 1 year

Prerequisites: To take full advantage of the biomedical informatics elective medical students should have a strong interest in the field and possess programming skills in one language. An understanding of databases will be an advantage.

Funding: Students may apply for funding within our department.