John Bradley Clinical Research Program
Over the summer, third year medical student Janan Illango took part in the John Bradley Clinical Research Program held in Toronto, Canada.
The John Bradley Clinical Research Program has two core components:
- a) learning and demonstrating core competencies in applied clinical research methods and
- b) completing student-initiated/led research projects
This program provides a unique opportunity to develop an understanding of applied clinical research by working on a supervisor led project in a field of mutual interest.
The program consisted of 34 undergraduate and medical students from Scotland, Canada, the United States, and Ireland. Each student was matched with a research supervisor to complete a clinical research project over eight weeks. Janan was matched with Dr. Leung, a geriatrician at Michael Garron Hospital, where he worked on a Quality Improvement study attempting to improve advanced care planning (ACP) documentation at the hospital’s geriatric outpatient clinic. His tasks included analysing patient reports on ACP documentation and creating a code status education program based on feedback from patient questionnaires.
While working on the study, Janan attended seven weekly scholarly sessions held by experts in clinical research, knowledge translation and research ethics. The program culminated with the completion of a “One Minute Wonder” video, a power-point presentation to a panel of experts, a knowledge affirmation assessment and a fun evening of croquet by the beach. It is recommended that medical students looking to gain clinical research experience in Canada join this program next year.
Thank you to the John Bradley Clinical Research Program coordinators, Prof. Sullivan and St. Andrews Medical School for organizing this wonderful applied clinical research opportunity.
