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The Clinical Peer Mentors Program: Student Motivations, Skills and Knowledge Acquisition, and Influence on Career Path

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Conference

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Tampa, Florida

Publication Date

June 15, 2019

Start Date

June 15, 2019

End Date

June 19, 2019

Conference Session

Assessment of Student Learning and Skills

Tagged Division

Biomedical Engineering

Page Count

18

DOI

10.18260/1-2--33376

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/33376

Download Count

406

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Paper Authors

biography

Rachael Schmedlen University of Michigan

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Rachael Schmedlen is Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education and a Lecturer IV in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Rice University. Dr. Schmedlen has played a critical role in evolving and now leading the U-M biomedical engineering undergraduate curriculum, particularly the BME Design Program. Passionate about expanding engaged, active-learning experiences and clinical immersion opportunities for students that improve their ability to execute the design process, Dr. Schmedlen has developed an undergraduate capstone design course, biomedical engineering laboratory, and clinical observation and needs finding course.

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Jin Woo Lee University of Michigan

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Jin Woo Lee received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Jin's research focuses on studying and developing design strategies, particularly in problem definition and concept generation.

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Prateek Shekhar University of Michigan Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-6552-2887

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Prateek Shekhar is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan. His research is focused on examining translation of engineering education research in practice, assessment and evaluation of dissemination initiatives and educational programs in engineering disciplines. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, M.S. in Electrical Engineering from University of Southern California and B.S. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from India.

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Jan Stegemann University of Michigan

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Jan Stegemann is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He received BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Prior to earning his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr. Stegemann worked for five years at Boston-based W.R. Grace & Co. (later called Circe Biomedical), where his research focused on cell-based bioartificial organs. Dr. Stegemann’s current research focuses on the use of extracellular environments to control cell function and the development of engineered tissues. He is also an active educator in the BME Design Program at the University of Michigan, with a focus on graduate-level medical product design and development.

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Abstract

We have created a Clinical Peer Mentor program that expands opportunities for clinical immersion, needs finding, and leadership for our biomedical engineering students to better prepare them for careers in medicine, research, and the med tech industry. Clinical Peer Mentors (CPMs), spend approximately 10 weeks during the summer observing within various clinical departments and conducting needs finding. They receive training in observation, interviewing, and clinical etiquette at the beginning of the program and receive feedback during weekly meetings with their program mentor. In addition, CPMs assess and scope the needs they have identified as well as others presented to them by clinicians or discovered by students enrolled in a clinical observation and needs finding course. By the end of the summer, CPMs generate multiple project proposals for the BME capstone design course and clinical handbooks that serve as a quick reference guide for any BME student preparing for a first-time clinical observation. During the academic year, CPMs act as a resource for BME capstone design teams, providing clinical perspective, and facilitate clinical observation opportunities for BME students by serving as operating room chaperones.

This investigational study reports the benefits of participation in the CPM program, now in its fourth year, in particular the skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy gained through the program that translate well to their career paths. Furthermore, this paper will discuss what CPMs value most about their experience and how it impacts their perceptions of interdisciplinary clinical collaboration, BME, and their career goals. Assessment was conducted by a mixed methods study that includes interviews and surveys of current and former participants in the program.

Schmedlen, R., & Lee, J. W., & Shekhar, P., & Stegemann, J. (2019, June), The Clinical Peer Mentors Program: Student Motivations, Skills and Knowledge Acquisition, and Influence on Career Path Paper presented at 2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Tampa, Florida. 10.18260/1-2--33376

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2019 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015