The Research in Acute Care Course Track at the University of New Mexico is a multi-semester academic program designed to immerse students in the full lifecycle of clinical research in emergency medicine. This hands-on experience prepares pre-health students to conduct human subjects research while contributing meaningfully to real-world projects within the UNM Hospital Emergency Department.
Students begin the track with foundational, practical training in day-to-day research operations and gradually progress toward research design and protocol development. In subsequent semesters, students form small research teams to carry a single project from Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval through data collection, analysis, and eventual publication.
The course also provides the opportunity for students to:
Earn academic credit
Gain clinical shadowing experience
Engage directly with emergency medicine faculty and researchers
Build a strong foundation for future careers in medicine, public health, or biomedical research
Examples of Student-Led Research Projects:
The EMS-ED Trauma Handoff Study PI: Joy Crook, MD
Patient Satisfaction and Wait Time Expectations: Effects of Providing Information to Emergency Department Patients in the Waiting Room PI: Jon Femling, MD, PhD
Evaluation of the Impact of the Affordable Care Act (2013) on a Patient’s Medical Decision Making PI: Robb McLean, MD
Readiness for Change in Emergency Department Patients in Relation to Alcohol Misuse and the Nature of ED Visit PI: Cameron Crandall, MD
Enrollment Information: This course is offered by instructor permission only. Interested students must attend an information session or schedule a meeting with course instructors to obtain an enrollment override.
