Training Future Leaders in Aging Research

现代公共卫生和医学的一个巨大成功是，我们大多数人现在都可以预期长寿并在年老时死亡。人们越来越一致地认为，医学教育系统无法以适当的方式满足人民的保健需求；这项改革早该进行了。为下一代做好准备的方法之一是在早期培养他们对衰老研究的兴趣。研究是医学教育中有价值的一部分。即使是在初级水平上，从事研究也会让医学生参与知识的创造。他们需要明白，知识不是他们被动接受的惰性物质，而是不断被创造、辩论和重新制定的--他们在这个过程中扮演着一个角色。拟议的老龄研究培训计划建立在西奈山卫生系统强大而成功的现有临床、教育和研究培训基础上，以及西奈山伊坎医学院非常成功的老龄研究医学生培训(MStar)计划。拟议的为期8至12周的培训计划名为Trading Future Leaders in Aging Research，其总体目标是每年夏天向15名有前途的医科学生实习生提供衰老和姑息医学研究方面的基本知识和技能，并激发和培养他们对老年学和姑息医学的初步兴趣。为了实现这些目标，我们建议为医学生学员开发一个高度结构化的老龄化和姑息医学研究计划，其中将包括：1)与已建立和成功的研究人员一起参与老龄化和姑息医学研究倡议，这些研究人员在学生指导方面有良好的记录；2)与这些主要研究人员发展正式的指导关系，并与以前的学生学员合作，他们将作为近距离同行的导师获得额外的支持；3)为目标设定制定个人学习和研究合同；4)参与关于基本研究方法和领导主题的结构化活动；5)嵌套并与他们的研究项目目标保持一致的老年和姑息医学临床暴露；6)为研究陈述和传播提供指导指导。我们预计，这些导师关系将持续到培训期甚至研究项目之后，并发展为终身导师关系。我们假设，对老龄化和姑息医学研究以及老年人临床护理的积极介绍将导致许多项目实习生在老年病学和/或姑息医学领域追求职业生涯，承担学术领导角色，并成为老年人健康的不懈倡导者。

One resounding success of modern public health and medicine is the fact that most of us can now expect to live a long life and die in old age. There is a growing consensus that the medical education system is unable to meet the health care needs of the population in an appropriate way; this reform is overdue. One of the ways to prepare the future generation is by developing their interests in aging research early on. Research is a valuable part of medical education. Even at a rudimentary level, engaging in research implicates medical students in the creation of knowledge. They need to understand that knowledge is not an inert substance they passively receive, but is continually created, debated, and reformulated—and they have a role to play in that process. The proposed training program in aging research builds upon the strong and successful existing foundation of clinical, education and research training at the Mount Sinai Health System and the highly successful Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The overall aim of the proposed 8- to 12-week training program called Training Future Leaders in Aging Research is to provide 15 promising medical student trainees per summer with the basic knowledge and skills in aging and palliative medicine research and to stimulate and nurture their beginning interest in geriatrics and palliative medicine. We propose to accomplish these goals by developing a highly structured program in aging and palliative medicine research for medical student trainees that will include: 1) Participation in aging and palliative medicine research initiatives with established and successful research investigators with proven track records in student mentoring; 2) Development of formal mentoring relationships with these leading research faculty and partnering with prior student trainees who will serve as near-peer mentors for additional support; 3) Development of individual learning and research contracts for goal settings; 4) Participation in structured activities on basic research methodology and leadership topics; 5) Clinical exposures in geriatric and palliative medicine nested and aligned with their research project goals and; 6) Guided mentorship for research presentation and dissemination. We expect that these mentee-mentor relationships will endure beyond the training period or even the research project and develop into a lifelong mentorship. We hypothesize that a positive introduction to aging and palliative medicine research and to clinical care of older adults will lead many program trainees to pursue careers in geriatrics and/or palliative medicine, assume academic leadership roles, and become relentless advocates of older adult health.