Abigail Conroy
Nova Southeastern University

Purpose
Medical school curriculum tasks students with learning vast amounts of knowledge in a high-stress environment, requiring adoption of new study strategies. First-year medical students often struggle to adapt to this environment risking attrition. The pre-matriculation program at NSUMD focused on knowledge-based topics. This approach showed little tangible benefit both in overall academic performance and student satisfaction. These outcomes highlight causes for acclimation difficulties are multifactorial and not necessarily academic. Previous participants of our pre-matriculation program commented that challenges were more about acclimating to the learning environment rather than comprehension of the content itself. We propose shifting the focus of pre-matriculation programs toward professional development and wellness.

Methods
NSUMD identified at-risk students based on the following qualifiers: 1) an extended academic time gap, 2) fewer than half of the core topics in our foundational sciences course, and 3) a lack of small group learning experiences. Students who met at least two of these qualifiers were required to take the pre-matriculation program and all matriculants were encouraged to enroll. The pre-matriculation program consisted of interactive sessions led by curriculum content experts and one-on-one meetings with faculty members. Sessions focused on curriculum philosophy, effective study strategies, and mechanisms of support.

Results
The admissions committee identified 13 students who were required to participate in the pre-matriculation program and another 8 enrolled voluntarily. 19 participants (n=21) responded to a post-survey. The sessions were perceived as substantially effective in preparing students for matriculation. Majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the program better prepared them for the first semester of medical school.

Conclusion
Students who participate in the pre-matriculation program are tracked long-term to identify correlative outcomes. Longitudinal surveys will be used to track perceptions of the program during major curricular touchpoints. We anticipate this new pre-matriculation program provides students with the tools to succeed in modern medical education.

Davinder Sandhu
American University of Antigua

Purpose
Medical schools need to cope with the disruption of student academic performance from the Covid pandemic affecting both academic and non-academic factors. This study has analyzed the burden of non-academic mitigating factors in students who have appealed against dismissal versus those who are seeking a grade change. The data analytics should help the university to enhance support services including counselling and resource the education and learning department to support struggling students whose performance has been compromised.

Methods
This is a descriptive analysis of dismissal for failure to progress including academic performance, or grade change appeals reviewed by the American University of Antigua appeals’ committee from January 1st through 23rd November 2022. Such factors are financial stress/student debt, mental and physical illness, parenting children, caring for elderly parents, Covid infection and coping with bereavement.

Results
The appeals’ committee reviewed 188 appeals. There were 155 (82%) students facing dismissal and 33 (18%) who appealed against their grade. In the dismissal appeals group the incidence of financial stress was 23% (36), mental illness 43% (67), physical illness 39% (61), dependent children 12% (19), elderly parents 18% (28) and bereavement 19% (30). 11 (7%) students also experienced Covid infection. 37 (23%) had 2 factors, 25 (16%) had three factors and 7 (4.5%) had 4 factors. None of the grade change students reported any non-mitigating factors.

Conclusion
Academic as well as non-academic factors are complex with multiple variables and equally important for student performance and health. Of these, mental health is a significant risk factor, consisting of panic attacks, ADHD, depression is the most common. Students need a nurturing culture and facilities to overcome disabling mental illness including counselling, psychological and psychiatric referrals. Educators need to be aware that student distress from poor academic performance can have multiple underlying non-academic factors including mental illness and earlier engagement may mitigate against future dismissals.

Sara Mansour
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Purpose
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Health Education and Awareness Team (EP-HEAT) was established in 2020, focusing on disseminating bilingual health education material to the community. EP-HEAT consists of TTUHSC El Paso students, faculty, and promotoras, also known as Community Health Workers. These events strive to increase healthcare awareness and connect the community with healthcare resources. EP-HEAT developed events that focus on identifying and dispelling myths in healthcare. Additionally, these events allow students to interact directly with the community and serve as healthcare educators to better prepare them for the community-facing aspects of being a physician and developing a professional identity.

Methods
To enhance the opportunity for students to serve as educators for the community, EP-HEAT established the bilingual “In the Hot Seat with EP-HEAT: Dispelling Myths in Healthcare,” commonly referred to as Myth Busters events. Students work with promotoras to identify healthcare issues relevant to the community, solicit questions from the local community, and organize the Myth Buster event to dispel health misconceptions with the help of an expert. Community members who attended the Myth Buster events received a survey to obtain demographic data, identify the motivation behind attendance, and evaluate the benefit and effectiveness of the event.

Results
To date, 10 events have occurred. Our results showed that 81% of our attendees identified as Hispanic, with 45% older than 46. Eighty-four percent of attendees felt comfortable teaching the information they learned at events to friends and family, suggesting the students have successfully served as educators.

Conclusion
Dispelling myths is instrumental for communities with limited access or knowledge of healthcare and diseases. Medical students need to become proficient in interacting with the district, particularly in underserved areas, and allowing them to act as community-facing educators promotes the development of a professional identity.

Nelda Ephraim
American University of Antigua College of Medicine

Purpose
The Residency Advising Program (RAP) was designed to augment medical student preparation at a Caribbean Medical School for The Match®. RAP is a multi-faceted, comprehensive program to provide specialty-specific advising for residency selection and interview preparation. The goal is to provide targeted advisement for medical students to match in their desired residency. The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the RAP.

Method
The proposed study will utilize an explanatory research approach using quantitative measures and probability sampling to assess the relationships between the sample populations and the 2023 match. The sample populations are comprised of subsets of all medical students entering The Match®. The researchers will examine the number of students who received the college of medicine’s supported RAP with a 1:1 advisement session and match in 2023. The researchers will also compare medical students who received the college of medicine supported RAP with a 1:1 advisement session and match in 2023, against those students who did not participate in the college of medicine supported RAP with a 1:1 advisement session and match in 2023. All participants attended the same Caribbean Medical School. Descriptive statistics will be conducted to describe the sample populations. Frequencies of the independent variables will be measured: Step 1 and Step 2 CK score ranges, gender, age, and Step 2 score before and after the ERAS deadline. Inferential statistical analysis will be conducted to compare both groups. Multiple regression analysis will determine the possible association between The Match® and the independent variables as indicated.

Results
Descriptive statistics are in progress for the two sample populations.

Conclusion
The research is ongoing. The projected outcome is to reject the null hypothesis and confirm the effectiveness of the RAP.

Brook Hubner
University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine

Purpose
The hazards of chronic stress and burnout in medical trainees are widely acknowledged. Resilience as a specific and distinct psychological construct serving as a buffer against stress and burnout has not been the subject of much direct examination. Resilience can be defined as the ability to maintain a stable equilibrium in response to trauma or stress. In this context, resilience is a process of adapting to stressors and not simply recovering from or “bouncing back” from a loss of equilibrium. Thus, when stress is high, resilience may mitigate burnout and support well-being. The goal of this study was to examine resilience as the maintenance of equilibrium among perceived stress, burnout, and well-being in medical students.

Methods
Medical students were surveyed annually for four years beginning in the 2015-16 academic year using the following measures: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), and Arizona Integrative Outcomes Scale (AIOS, a measure of global well-being). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine CD-RISC scores as a moderator between the PSS and outcomes including AIOS and the Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy subscales of the MBI-GS.

Results
2,271 surveys were completed over 4 years. 89 surveys had missing or incomplete data, yielding an analysis sample of 2,182. CD-RISC score was a significant moderator between perceived stress, the MBI-GS cynicism subscale, and the AIOS.

Conclusions
Resilience appears to moderate perceived stress and burnout in medical students. That is, individuals with higher resilience can maintain equilibrium when confronted with stress. It is tempting to develop resilience programming or identify risk factors for poor resilience, but paths to resilience can be complex. For a student with children, an ice cream break with family may support resilience. Mixed-methods research may help illuminate how individuals maintain balance through interactions inside and outside of inherently stressful learning environments.

Michael Herr
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Purpose
Throughout medical education, students must navigate demanding academic and professional responsibilities while maintaining personal wellness. Active encouragement of student wellness is in the spotlight in medical education. However, measures of student perceptions of wellness initiatives are lacking. We sought to understand why participation was low among medical students three years after the creation of a student-led wellness committee.

Methods
A survey was conducted to understand the committee impact on student wellness and student efforts in addressing their own wellness. Voluntary survey responses included a 27-student sample group representing all four years of the medical curriculum.  

Results
Students reported that their professional responsibilities were overwhelming and left little time for their personal well-being. Students rated “stigma” and “fear of judgment” as lower barriers to wellness than “time” and “professional responsibilities”. This may reflect institutional success at creating a more mental health-aware culture. However, students perceived that their own personal efforts had between 70% and 80% more efficacy than school-run, student-run, and community-based programs. Thus, destigmatization continues to be a baseline necessity; however a more fruitful use of resources might include additional educational workshops, voluntary and active engagements, schedule flexibility, counseling availability, and opportunities for individualized professional mentorship. Regarding 12 aspects of wellness, “relaxation and mental rest” ranked second on average, yet regarding 12 aspects of long-term fulfillment, “ease of lifestyle” was tenth. Students intellectually know the signs of burnout, but prioritize professional advancement at the expense of personal wellbeing.

Conclusion
Student opinions of student-run and school-run programs are similar; student-based wellness efforts need to be more individually targeted to help students identify their needs and find their own avenues to maintain wellness.

Thomas Iida
Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas

Purpose
Disadvantaged populations were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, both medically and in the educational setting. Lower-income families often either do not have a laptop/desktop computer, adequate internet connection, or any kind of dedicated study space which unfortunately contributed to poorer academic performance during distance learning. To help combat this, the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine (KKSOM) did not close down its study locations during the pandemic. This study analyzes the utilization of campus resources of students at KKSOM during the pandemic, and its impact on educational outcomes.

Methods
An IRB-approved survey was sent to the classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024 which asked about study locations and live lecture attendance. Data analysis was done through the SPSS statistics software comparing survey scores and NBME scores of students that indicated disadvantaged status, first-generation, and lower SES to those who did not meet these criteria.

Results
First generation students were found to study on campus more than their counterparts (30.98% vs 20.19%, p<0.05) and less at home in general (55.43% vs 67%, p<0.05). Lower SES and disadvantaged students attended live lectures more often as well (56.64% vs 43.09%, p<0.05). Lastly, there were no significant differences found between NBME exam scores between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged groups for the class of 2024, whose didactic years were most affected by the pandemic.

Conclusion
Students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds study on campus more frequently and attend live lectures more often. While other factors clearly apply, this study emphasizes the importance of having educational resources like a quiet place to study available to all students to ensure an equal chance of succeeding in one’s medical education.

Sherlie Vazquez
Ponce Health Sciences University

Purpose
Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU) witnessed through the Language Support Program (LSP) the increase in Spanish proficiency and cultural competencies of non-resident medical students. This research demonstrates the impact of the LSP during the interaction with the Hispanic communities to improve the quality of health care among the Limited English Population (LEP) emerging culturally competent physicians.

Method
The LSP followed up on the language proficiency of the non-resident students through language assessments of their patient encounters during the first and second year. In addition, throughout the academic year, LSP provides individually tailored coaching sessions, one hour weekly, to reinforce secondary language performance and the ability to connect with the Hispanic population during patient encounters using a holistic rubric as an activity from the Family and Community Medicine curriculum. Meanwhile, LSP collected qualitative data through convergent parallel design, through structured interviews with mentors and medical attendings using their input on the second and third-year students' interprofessional communication skills growth and cultural awareness.

Results
LSP strategy achieved its main goal of demonstrating an improved interprofessional skillset in medical students' understanding and equipping them with greater cultural competencies. Quantitively, 88% of the non-resident students acquired the competencies which help them to conduct themselves appropriately in medical scenarios during community activities and clerkships. The qualitative data from the interviews showed an increase in mastery of the targeted language, Spanish, making them feel confident in patient care, and conducting themselves in the patients' language.

Conclusion
Medical non-resident students with direct feedback on their language performance throughout the interaction with LEP Hispanic population have increased their cultural awareness and interprofessional skillset. After two-year tailored coaching sessions, non-resident medical students successfully engaged with Hispanic patients during their 3rd year in clerkships and community activities. This impact represents an undoubtedly positive outcome for LSP.

Delaney Metcalf
August University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership

Purpose
Medical students face tremendous pressure and challenges during their medical training. We aim to create a school culture that promotes well-being and provides students with the tools and support they need to prioritize their mental, emotional, and physical well-being during their medical training. To encourage this cultural change, we have developed a peer coaching wellness program for our first-year medical students.

Methods
We developed a peer coaching well-being initiative for 60 first-year medical students. Teams of students were paired with a peer coach and a supporting faculty member. After a presentation on the latest research in emotional self-regulation, students participated in a facilitated improvisation session. Discussions were facilitated by peer coaches exploring common scenarios that may incite feelings of stress, uncertainty, or other depleting emotions encountered in medical school. After sharing personal experiences with each scenario, peer coaches led students in emotional regulation techniques such as heart-focused breathing. Surveys were completed by the students following the session.

Results
Several themes emerged from survey open-ended responses. Participants (n=57) identified multiple facets of the workshop as helpful strategies for medical school: 1) forming a small learning community, 2) peer-based strategies for stressful challenges,, 3) using what was learned in the workshop, and 4) learning the science of positive emotion.

Conclusion
We have co-created a culture of well-being at our medical school. This interclass activity fostered a camaraderie centered on personal well-being and development of supportive relationships that are at the heart of resilience. Presentation of the latest science increased awareness of the benefits of emotional self-regulation among medical learners. The collaboration between faculty, students, and their peers has created a palpable sense of companionship that is ultimately the best antidote to the burnout plaguing medical education.

Kate J.F. Carnevale
Nova Southeastern University

Purpose
The first year of undergraduate dental doctoral education challenges students with heavy course loads as well as complex basic science topics, such as biochemistry and microbiology. Providing students with information on best practices for effective studying should optimize their study techniques and improve their success in the courses.

Methods
Data from four cohorts of first year dental students (Class of 2023 to 2026, N = 512) were collected during their first semester. The data analyzed were student pre-exam self-reported study strategy surveys and individual exam scores (for three cohorts: C/O 23-25), pre- and post-workshop self-reported surveys (for two cohorts: C/O 25-26), and class averages for biochemistry and microbiology (for all four cohorts) to find correlations between study approaches as they evolved throughout the semester and the students’ success in the courses.

Results
Analysis of exam performance, course averages, and survey data across the student cohorts demonstrate a correlation between study techniques used and success on biochemistry and microbiology assessments. Student cohorts who engaged with the study training workshop reported interest in implementing new active learning techniques into their studying. The cohorts that participated in the study skills training workshop showed improved performance throughout the two courses.

Conclusion
A correlation between engagement in active learning study modalities and improved exam scores was observed. This finding was particularly evident for student cohorts who engaged with a 1-hour study skills training workshop.

Edward Simanton
Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas

Purpose
It is common for medical students to experience high levels of stress and performance anxiety during exams. One study found that students’ stress levels reduced significantly after they completed a six-week yoga and meditation program before they took their final exams. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether students’ participation in wellness activities, such as yoga and meditation, immediately before an exam will reduce stress and improve exam performance.

Methods
Students were recruited to participate in the study. Before each exam, students were randomly assigned into the experimental group (guided meditation 15 minutes immediately before the exam) or the control group (no meditation before the exam). During the study, all participating students were assigned to the experimental group for at least one exam and to the control group for at least one exam. Initial data were collected from 7 students as they took four NBME clinical subject exams (family medicine, OB-GYN, psychiatry, and surgery). Scores were reported in percentiles.

Results
Out of the 7 participating medical students, 3 students had higher averages when assigned to the experimental group, whereas 4 students had higher averages while assigned to the control group. Through analysis of the initial data, there was no statistically significant difference in exam performance based on meditation or non-meditation prior to an exam. However, statistical power was low due to the low sample size, so additional data collection is needed.

Conclusions
There was no statistically significant benefit or harm related to meditation before an exam. More trials need to be run in order to determine if pre-examination wellness activities should be recommended to medical students.

Emma Schmidt
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Purpose
Students and educators in the medical field rarely have the opportunity to consider the intersection of scientific, clinical, and personal perspectives of the body outside of an anatomy lab setting or context. This curatorial project considers the merits of student exposure to the range of artistic figurative depiction, and of integrating the practice of related art exhibitions into the medical educational sphere.

Methods
Considering the convergence of interests between the art world and the medical field when it comes to the subject of the body culminated in “The Cadaver/The Body,” a curated art exhibition on display in Boston University’s College of Fine Arts in October 2022. A call for figurative artwork of diverse approach and interpretation was distributed across campus, and the works that were selected ranged from anatomical to deeply abstract in their dealings with the human condition. A booklet was also created that details the workings of the anatomy lab from the perspective of an art student, for artists interested in the field of work. The booklet explores what it means to be learning from the physical human body from both an artistic and clinical perspective.

Results
The gallery show provided space for medical students to step away from the body as a specimen. The show invited dialogue and acknowledgement for the consideration of the body as not only an object, but as a subject, and consequently how to shift the lens of perception appropriately and accordingly.

Conclusion
This show encourages a conversation about how we, as humans, have the ability to view the body in vastly different ways under various contexts, including individual sentience, experience, and perception. The body is a vessel, it is physical matter, it is a source of study, it is a malleable documentation of experiences.

Hassler Macías
International Federation of Medical Students' Associations

Purpose
New open interactive ways of learning, including peer-education strategies which can have better global accessibility, are crucial in bridging the knowledge gap in education. Such educational interventions can enable medical schools and tutors worldwide to gain teaching skills, collaborate with their peers, and be better leaders and health advocates.

Methods
The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations has considered peer education as one of the underlying capacity-building values to promote the transfer of knowledge, skills, and attitudes between peers, as equals. In 2014 the Federation introduced a peer-led medical education workshop named Training Medical Education Trainers (TMET) that includes delivering medical education core topics besides building participants' facilitation, communication, leadership, and professional skills. The delivery methods used during TMETs promote students’ engagement and peer learning through TBL (small working groups), simulations, PBL, reflection cycles, feedback, discussions, and role-playing.

Results
Since 2014, the TMET workshop has been conducted 65 times during IFMSA pre-General Assemblies and Sub-Regional Trainings in more than 50 countries over all 5 regions, developing the capacities of more than 800 medical students worldwide on core medical education topics. Collected data from pre and post assessments forms for randomly selected 5 TMET workshops showed an improvement in participants' knowledge about teaching and learning theories, assessment and evaluation, and curriculum planning, in addition to public speaking, communication, and facilitation skills.

Conclusion
Peer-assisted learning in non-formal education is key to providing a congruent intelligence that allows the peers to use methods the students understand best to develop their competencies, equipping them with knowledge and making them better healthcare leaders and advocates. Lastly, by practicing PAL medical students can develop their competencies and confidence as a communicator, which will aid them in becoming better practitioners in the future.

Purpose
While standardization and accreditation efforts have come a long way, there remains notable differences in the design and delivery of medical education worldwide; therefore, it is important for students to also have an innate ability to study in an evidence based manner. We propose this worksheet as a way for students to incorporate learning science into their daily learning practices.

Methods
Based on learnings gained from the work that we have done in creating educational webinars and knowledge articles on the subject, we decided to incorporate three elements in the creation of this worksheet: the self-determination theory, six learning science principles, and the best-evidence medical education framework. We reviewed existing literature on these concepts in order to identify key characteristics and behaviors that exemplifies them and incorporated them into a worksheet, aiming to support students in achieving a method of learning that is evidence based.

Results
We created a worksheet consisting of 5 different steps for students to follow: 1. Identify their learning goals by reviewing their personal goals and course learning outcomes, 2. Identify their current situation, 3. Reflect on their study plans by comparing them against the building blocks of core learning science principles (spacing, prioritization, retrieval actions, elaborative actions, learning medium used), 4. Reflect on the outcome of their current learning behavior to identify shortcomings and the pitfalls in learning for a particular course, 5. Plan for the future by setting SMART goals and researching optimal study techniques using an extrapolation of the BEME steps.

Conclusion
Just as best-evidence medical education practices can be used by educators to improve student learning and retention, learners can implement evidence-based education into their own learning to help themselves expand and retain their knowledge. Further studies are still required to evaluate the effectiveness of this worksheet.

Phillip Kaminnik
University of Central Florida College of Medicine

Purpose
Self-efficacy is a measure of confidence in one’s ability to perform context-specific tasks. High self-efficacy is known to be associated with better performance and perseverance in the face of difficulty. Current research from preclinical medical students supports positive correlations between self-efficacy for academic tasks and higher levels of perceived wellness. The current study used a newer tool that assesses self-efficacy for clinical tasks to determine if a similar association persists between self-efficacy and improved wellness in clerkship students.

Methods
As part of a 3-year prospective cohort study on attendance, performance, and wellness, an 82-item survey was deployed to medical students enrolled at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine at the end of their clerkship year in April of 2022. The survey consisted of the following instruments: Graduate Stress Inventory, Modified School Burnout Inventory, CDC “Healthy Days Measure,” Pearlin Mastery Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Lubben Social Network Scale, and the clinical self-efficacy scale developed by Artino and colleagues. Correlations between self-efficacy scores and other variables were evaluated using Spearman’s correlation tests.

Results
Of the 75 students who consented to join the 3-year study, 27 completed the end of M3 survey. The only statistically significant correlations were observed with Lubben’s Social Network Scale, which related to overall clinical self-efficacy (rs: = -.409, p = 0.034) and self-efficacy for patient care (rs: = -.482, p = 0.011). No other statistically significant correlations were noted with other wellness variables.

Conclusion
Previous work in preclinical students has demonstrated positive correlations between medical students’ academic self-efficacy and wellness. We were unable to find validity evidence for extending the use of Artino’s self-efficacy survey to predict wellness in clerkship students; our current data showed weak relationships between clinical self-efficacy and student wellness in the clerkship phase of training.

Minali Prasad
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Purpose
The United States Medical Licensing (USMLE) Exam Step 1 exam score was often used to assess residency applications for competitive and noncompetitive fields. Program directors of many competitive specialties report an increased importance of research for applicants after the change in Step 1 scoring. Our objective was to assess medical students’ perception of this phenomenon.

Methods
In this narrative inquiry study, eight medical students at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine who have tested or will test with the Pass/Fail (P/F) Step 1 were interviewed about their perceived importance of, and resulting choices to pursue, research activities. The survey included a total of 10 free-response prompts and close-ended Likert-style questions.

Results
All of the surveyed students perceived an increased importance of research activities and publications after the transition to a P/F Step 1, but did not feel sufficiently informed about the subject: They rated their knowledge of the importance of research at an average of 2.13 on a 5-point scale. Inconsistent advice between the school administration, physician faculty, and residents were cited as sources of their confusion. After the transition to a P/F Step 1, 50% felt clinical research was more important than other categories of research. 50% of students value the quality of research, 37.5% value the quantity of experiences and publications, and 12.5% value both in the wake of the transition to P/F Step 1.

Conclusions
Sufficient information about the importance of research for their residency applications, highlights a need for medical schools to host structured informational sessions, and administrative coordination regarding the importance of research after the transition to a P/F Step 1. Given that students particularly value field-specific clinical research opportunities, schools should design a centralized database with potential projects to support students.

Hannah Riva
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso

Purpose
Moderate-level stress in medical students is inevitable and even beneficial for academic performance, but unmitigated high-level stress is associated with anxiety, depression, and burnout. Mindfulness techniques are an important tool for mitigating such stress. This project is designed to identify common stressors on pre-clerkship medical students and to develop on-line learning modules for promoting mindfulness as an effective tool.

Methods
Pre-clerkship medical students will complete a survey asking them to identify important stressors they faced during their first year of medical school and to rank the effectiveness of various coping mechanisms. Likert-like scales will be used to assess levels of stress, degree of perceived adaptation to stress, ability to focus on learning/studying, and sense of well-being. Open-ended questions will address perceptions and experiences with coping mechanisms. Survey results will guide the creation of modules available to aid incoming students to develop stress coping techniques. The modules will also overview evidence for the usefulness of mindfulness practice for stress reduction and help recruit students to participate in a voluntary Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT) course to be offered in the first semester. ESRT is an on-line 5-week (1 hour / week) mindfulness training tailored for medical trainees.

Results
The results of the survey will consist of a quantitative ranking of perceived stressors and coping mechanisms, along with a thematic analysis of student experiences with stress, their coping mechanisms, and their impact on academic performance and on their overall wellness. These results will inform the design of the modules that will be provided to students as soon as they matriculate.

Conclusion
Our results will help determine if mindfulness-based skills can bolster medical student competency development. Mindfulness skills could remain relevant throughout training and beyond.

Shiyuan Wang
Rowan-Virtual School of Osteopathic Medicine

Purpose
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention program using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) to identify deficiencies in at-risk medical students’ learning skills, motivation and self-regulation and provide instructions accordingly in order to better support their success. Literature found that at-risk medical students often experience early academic difficulty associated with the LASSI areas. An early intervention to address the areas of weakness would be expected to build a better foundation for student success later in medical school.

Methods
Students in a pre-matriculation program (offered to all incoming students but required for those meet specific at-risk entrance criteria) took the LASSI assessment at the beginning of the program. Students then joined in one of the two tracks (PBL and lecture-based, depends on which they chose for their medical school) and were educated on specific strategies to improve areas of weakness (score <50) while also learned basic science content. After the program they took LASSI again. Data were from 74 at-risk students (37 lecture-based and 37 PBL) required to attend.

Results
Paired-sample T tests of pre- and post-program LASSI scores showed that the PBL students showed improvement in three of the ten areas: Concentration, Time Management, and Using Academic Resources; students in lecture-based track showed improvement in the same three areas and additional two: Information Processing, and Self-Testing.

Conclusion
The pre-matriculation intervention was effective in improving some LASSI areas among at-risk students for both types of curricula, and the potential reasons of the different impact of the two tracks will be discussed. The current abstract only focused on the pre-matriculation phase of a multiphase educational intervention program. More data collection is in process and our next step is to evaluate the associations of the improved LASSI areas with at-risk students’ medical school and board exam performance.

Joshua Ho
Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas

Purpose
Students interested in medical education research require opportunities to cultivate their leadership and scholarship skills. Expanding the medical education research community helps develop students’ hypothesis generation skills, critical analysis of research articles, and capacity to perform collaborative research. Faculty and student partnerships can enrich projects by providing a valuable student perspective.

Methods
Medical education organizations are progressing by encouraging students to participate in conferences and providing opportunities for student research grants in medical education. There was an impressive number of student presentations and overall student presence at IAMSE 2022, but there was a lack of multi-institutional work. We saw this as an opportunity to leverage existing multi-institutional collaborations between faculty mentors and medical students interested in medical education to form the Student Medical Education Research Team (SMERT). Current participating schools in SMERT include: Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, UC San Diego, and UC Davis. SMERT’s primary goal is to be an incubator for medical education scholarship by bringing students from different medical institutions together to share research ideas, offer constructive feedback, and promote multi-institutional scholarship.

Results
SMERT is an ongoing collaborative outlet for creating innovative research projects. Our current multi-institutional projects include Anki research, COVID-19 impacts on student success, TBL/PBL, and more.

Conclusions
SMERT is a lucrative idea that can be replicated at other institutions globally, but challenges may arise. Student and faculty accountability is a problem many similar programs face. Keeping a monthly calendar ensures members stay engaged and projects continue to progress. Another challenge observed is the lack of a central hub where we can all share information as the projects develop. We have overcome this challenge by using a shared Google Drive that we can add to with our research ideas and progress.