The four cornerstones of the CWRU School of Medicine curriculum for the University program are research and scholarship, mastery of clinical skills, leadership, and civic professionalism. The Office of Medical Student Research is dedicated to ensuring that students are meaningfully engaged in the cornerstone of research and scholarship over the course of their medical school experience.

The objective of this cornerstone is to help students acquire tools and experience in asking questions, critically assessing literature, and cultivating other aspects of the life-long pursuit of learning that is a critical aspect of the career of all physicians and physician/scientists. The goals of the cornerstone include the following:

1. valuing question asking
2. posing good questions
3. investigating questions systematically
4. constructing responses to questions with others in a community of inquiry
5. communicating insights into questions to others in a broader community

A detailed description of these goals can be found in:

Fennimore, T. F. (2009). Structured research activity as a vehicle for fostering reflective practice among medical students. JIAMSE 19(2s), 7-16,

which is the second article on this link: