Med Student Grand Rounds give students unique experience
The College of Medicine has launched a Medical Student Grand Rounds series, presented by medical students, for medical students, although everyone is welcome to attend in-person or virtually. The series of four lectures this fall is expected to provide students with numerous benefits, including the experience of presenting on medical topics to a large audience. The first presentation, “Confronting Microaggressions as a Medical Student,” was offered Aug. 18 by Chris Chang, Class of 2022,
The series was suggested last year by Robbie Daulton, MD, Class of 2021. Daulton was involved in a clinical teaching elective where fourth-year students taught first- and second-year medical students during their clinical skills course. Daulton enjoyed the near-peer mentoring and suggested to Matthew Kelleher, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, who was leading the elective, that there should be an opportunity for students to present about their passions and lessons learned.
“The opportunity to investigate something you are passionate about and translate it into a talk is a phenomenal experience,” says Daulton, now in his internship year at the Boston Combined Pediatrics Residency Program. “I know that MedCats do outstanding work in the lab and community and I wanted a stage for students to share their work with the student body. I think we can give students a rich academic experience and inspire younger students to think big.”
Kelleher thought it a great idea. He joined with Amy Thompson, MD, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and who leads the college’s Research and Industry Relations Committee, earlier this year and several other students to bring the idea to life. Students involved included Phillip Witcher and Tiffany Shi, in the Medical Scientist Training Program, third-year student Justin Heidel and second-year students Andrew Nicholas and Claire Weinstein.
Second-year UC medical student Claire Weinstein
“When talking to my peers, it seems that there is great interest in having Medical Student Grand Rounds,” Weinstein says. “Even in our inaugural year, we had many applications and significant interest from the students. We are hoping to make Medical Student Grand Rounds a staple event that the students look forward to every month.”
After soliciting volunteers and presentation ideas, Kelleher and student representatives selected four people to present this fall. Kelleher also is working with the students to craft their presentations. The three additional Grand Rounds scheduled are: Sept. 8 with Vincent Werthmann, Class of 2022 presenting “The Past, Present and Future of Pain Control: What I Learned About Anesthesia and Helping Out in the OR”; Oct. 13, Devin John, Class of 2022, “Better at the Bedside: The Impact of Your Communication on Patient Care”; and Nov. 3, Julie Reeves, Class of 2022, “The Elephant in the Room: Healthy and Unhealthy Approaches to Obesity.” All will be at noon in E-351 and also available via WebEx. Future presentations will be archived online.
“I’m thrilled to be selected to present this September,” Werthmann says. “Being one of the first medical students to test drive this new format is exciting, but also a bit nerve-wracking, as I’m sure we’ll have to work out a few kinks. Luckily, we have Dr. Kelleher assisting us with not only the logistics of arranging a Grand Rounds presentation, but also with developing the content.”
This will be Werthmann’s first formal presentation. Last year he made focused presentations with patient-care teams, including one on Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis.
Matthew Kelleher, MD
Kelleher sees many benefits for students to begin making Grand Rounds presentations while in medical school. Among these are having a voice to talk about the topics, ideas and work important to students, having a forum to showcase their skills beyond knowledge and having an opportunity to practice presenting to a large audience. He believes Grand Rounds presentations will be a unique experience to add to the students’ residency applications. Students in the audience also will have the opportunity to learn, expand their understanding of a topic and be inspired by the ideas and work of their fellow students. He adds that offering Medical Student Grand Rounds also could be a recruiting tool for the College of Medicine and could create connections between students based on similar passions and interests.
Werthmann says that the benefit for medical students attending these presentations will be hearing about topics that their colleagues are interested in and topics that are directly relevant to medical students.
Fourth-year UC medical student Vincent Werthmann
“I’m going to have the chance to share a topic I’m passionate about with all of my colleagues. Pain management is a topic that I found to be prevalent in every single core clinical rotation, and I will also be able to present my research project in pain management utilizing virtual reality to reduce pain and anxiety post-operatively in surgical patients at Cincinnati Children’s,” Werthmann says. “This will also undoubtedly be excellent practice for future Grand Rounds presentations I will have the opportunity to give during residency and beyond.”
Although she currently is not scheduled for a presentation, Weinstein is looking forward to leading a Grand Rounds in the future.
“For students in the audience, and particularly younger medical students, Medical Student Grand Rounds will provide intellectual inspiration and allow them to hear the voices and experiences of their peers. One of our goals is to have the talks be broad, catering to both an incoming first-year medical student as well as a seasoned physician,” she says.
Daulton hopes the students challenge their audience while also reflecting on the talks heard throughout their medical education and aim to be better than the best they have seen. He also encourages the students to include humor in their presentations and to offer dynamic talks bolstered by strong examples and impactful conclusions that inspire their fellow students.
Robbie Daulton, MD
“My hope is that students would not just follow a mold, but think of ways to communicate their message through interactive figures that engage their audience and provoke ingenuity in those who tune in,” Daulton says.
“My vision is that M1s would be inspired by their peers to approach medical school through a lens of passion more than obligation or fear. Grades, board scores and letters of recommendation are big external motivators, but pursuing injustice, impactful research or novel educational programing will be more sustainable motivators for a lifetime of passionate work in medicine. I believe that a successful medical student grand rounds talk has the potential to inspire that paradigm shift.”
Fourth-year medical student Chris Chang leads the first Medical Student Grand Rounds Aug. 18.
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