The Division of Hand Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center is seeking a highly qualified 3rd or 4th year medical student who is interested in a year-long clinical research position to enhance their orthopaedic surgery residency application and establish a strong groundwork for a career in academic orthopaedics.
Position: 2024-2025 Hand Microsurgery Clinical Research Student
Duration: 12-months (with a possibility of a second year)
Compensation: $32,000
Where: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
When: mid-June to early July. Some flexibility on a case-by-case basis.
Description:
The selected research student will be actively engaged in the comprehensive research program of the Division of Hand Surgery, working under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Koehler, the brachial plexus and congenital reconstructive microsurgeon at Montefiore Medical Center. An internationally regarded researcher, Dr. Koehler is seeking an industrious student with a very strong work ethic who is efficient and independent to assume the research student position. Now in its second year since inception, our program has been shown to be prolific, submitting 20 to 30 projects to national and international meetings this past year alone. The applying student will be entering into a robust research mechanism in its third year. The research student applicant must have prior research experience and must be able to work effectively in a team environment.
As the sole funded research student in the program, you will take the lead on managing a portfolio comprising over thirty clinical studies. Moreover, you will serve as the site study coordinator for an industry-related Phase IV clinical trial and contribute to the development of a pediatric outcome measurement, coordinating with international research sites. You will also be collaborating and working closely with current orthopaedic and plastic surgery residents, hand fellows, medical students, and certified occupational hand therapists to develop research initiatives spanning a diverse range of projects. Additionally, you will continue to foster connections with our collaborative partners at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia, and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Active participation in monthly hand conferences and weekly grand rounds is expected, providing ample opportunities to interact with the entire orthopaedic faculty in the clinical and educational
settings.
Duties of the Research Student include:
- Coordinating research initiatives within a multidisciplinary team consisting of medical students, residents, fellows, and attendings across multiple institutions.
- Collaborating with orthopaedic and plastic surgery residents, as well as hand fellows, on retrospective and prospective research projects.
- Developing and submitting protocols to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and entering data into Redcap.
- Conducting basic statistical analysis of data, with a strong preference for advanced proficiency in statistical software (such as R, SPSS, Python).
- Demonstrating proficient writing skills. Past experiences with manuscript writing are mandatory.
- Recording intraoperative techniques through a robust video system and editing them for educational purposes.
- Drafting and submitting abstracts and manuscripts to various conferences and journals. This year alone we have submitted projects to American Society for Surgery of the Hand, American Association for Hand Surgery, Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand, Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, Plastic Surgery The Meeting, and Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.
- Managing the screening, consent, enrollment, and follow-up processes of patients participating in clinical trials.
Goals:
- Enhance the strength of the research student’s application for orthopaedic surgery residency.
- Anticipate producing a minimum of 5-10 publications and abstract submissions, contingent on individual motivation and work ethic.
- Opportunity to be the primary author on all papers to which significant contributions are made.
- Possibility to present research abstracts at major orthopaedic and hand conferences.
- Networking opportunities with residents, fellows, and attending physicians at multiple institutions.
- Abundant chances to observe various unique surgical procedures.
- Involvement in critical aspects of large, multinational clinical trials.
We are committed to delivering a top-tier education and mentorship to our research students to become a more competitive applicant during the orthopaedic surgery match process and beyond. This experience is ideally meant to be a life-long relationship building experience. Research students from Dr. Koehler’s prior institution continue to work with him after many years.
To apply, kindly send your CV and a 500-word personal statement to Nathan Hasbani, Clinical Research Student, at nhasbani@montefiore,org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis with an anticipated decision by March 15, 2024.
