This elective provides an opportunity for students to participate in new and ongoing Clinical Informatics research projects in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Research projects may include working with registries and large databases to examine and investigate current clinical problems. Projects may be from 1-4+ weeks in duration, done at flexible time periods to allow the student to participate in conjunction with their regular academic schedule.

Recent topics of research have included:
- Gun violence in southwest Michigan
- Effects of alcohol and drug use on traumatic brain injuries
- Timing and dosages of Lovenox for prevention of DVT/PE after traumatic injury
- Effect of pre-hospital aspiration in trauma patients and subsequent development of pneumonia
- Effects of health information technology and EHRs on physician stress/burnout and health care quality
- The impact on pt BMI of GLP-1 inhibitors
- Obesity research
- Minority health research
- Natural Language processing

Topics are flexible and open to student interest to develop their own clinical question to investigate. Students will have an opportunity to work with clinical databases used for current clinical research as well as a variety of other 'big data' databases to facilitate understand of, and use of these large datasets in Informatics research.

The purpose of this elective is to familiarize students with data standards and vocabularies, IRB compliance and protocols, as well as HIPAA in practice and research. The course will consist of a mixture of virtual lectures and hand on exercises. At the completion of this elective, the student should be able to: Describe how data standards are used in the electronic health record; Build a protocol for extracting data using data standards, specifically SNOMED, LOINC and ICD-10 codes; Build an IRB protocol for a potential project involving human subjects research; Apply the rules of HIPAA to research and practice situations.

The purpose of this elective is to familiarize students with all aspects of the Virtual Data Warehouse (VDW). The course will consist of a mixture of virtual lectures and hand on exercises. At the completion of this elective, the student should be able to: Perform a query in Slicer Dicer; Clean data extracted from the VDW; Validate data extracted from the VDW; Discuss and apply different de-identification methods.

The purpose of this elective is to identify the key concepts of Clinical Decision Support (CDS). The course will consist of a a mixture of virtual lectures and hand on exercises. At the completion of this elective, the student should be able to: Discuss the benefits and drawbacks to Clinical Decision Support; Critique current CDS alerts; Design a CDS alert.

The purpose of this elective is to familiarize students with Natural Language Processing (NLP). The course will consist of a a mixture of virtual lectures and hand on exercises. At the completion of this elective, the student should be able to: Discuss the free platforms available; Operate Canary NLP tool; Employ Canary to extract text from EHR notes.

The purpose of this elective is to relate the key principles and concepts of precision medicine and how they impact individual and population health. At the completion of this elective, the student should be able to: Describe precision health in medicine and its impact on individual health; Provide examples of precision health's impact on individual and population health; Discuss the role of Omics in medicine; Use precision medicine websites to identify how precision medicine is utilized to help improve individual and population health.

In this elective, students will develop an understanding of the gross anatomy of a designated body region through hands-on dissection. Additionally, students will utilize primary literature to create a case study presentation which connects a clinical case with the gross anatomy of the dissected region and other relevant interdisciplinary concepts from pharmacology, physiology, microbiology, histology, etc. On the final day of the elective, students will present the anatomical structures identified during the dissection and their case study to the instructor and other students enrolled in the elective. Evaluation will be based on performance (ability to dissect the assigned region and apply gross anatomy knowledge through the development of a case study presentation), cooperative learning skills, interpersonal skills, and professionalism. Total time expectation is 20-30 hours per week.

Students will work alongside emergency medicine faculty and senior level residents caring for patients in a high volume emergency department. Students will work three, eight hour ED shifts, and will also attend weekly emergency medicine conferences. Total time expectations will be 25-30 hours per week.

Students will gain familiarity with a high performance prehospital EMS system. Along with EMS faculty and staff, they will attend various standing administrative meetings, and weekly emergency medicine grand rounds/simulation. They will complete two 8-hour ride along shifts with paramedics and one 8-hour ride along shift with medical first responder firefighters. Total time expectations will be approximately 25-30 hours per week.

This elective is offered in the second term. The elective consists of eight two hour interactive discussions led by faculty with a student moderator. Each event includes preparatory readings and videos related to the discussion topic. Each student is responsible for developing and moderating a one hour educational event as assigned by the course director.

This elective allows students to travel to India to collaborate with the Institute for Rural Health Studies (IRHS). Students will collaborate on a project identified by the IRHS, and with the guidance of the organization and the elective director, will contribute to their chosen project.

This elective course is focused at the intersection of interprofessional education, cultural diversity, and environmental justice in Puerto Rico. This longitudinal elective will help students understand the Puerto Rican healthcare system to better prepare them to work with diverse communities and to address health inequities. Topics covered in this course will include structural health inequities, and the impacts of colonialism on healthcare, the effect of climate change on healthcare and the complexities of providing ethical healthcare aid. Facilitated group discussions will focus on environmental justice, social determinants of health, structural racism and social justice. Students will gain the skills to not only identify health inequities unique to Puerto Ricans, but also how to mitigate their effects by working interprofessionally with nurses and social workers.

The course will combine in person classroom instruction, self-directed online learning, and an optional onsite experiential learning opportunity in San Juan Puerto Rico within the El Cano Martin Pena (ECMP) community. Spots for the travel portion of this elective are limited.

This longitudinal elective will help students analyze our current healthcare system for structural health inequities. Facilitated group discussions will focus on implicit bias, social determinants of health, structural racism, and microaggressions and how they lead to health inequity. Students will gain the skills in analyzing the institution of healthcare for these inequities, and develop skills to mitigate their effects.

This one week elective is designed for M1/M2 students interested in learning the basic skills of history taking and examination of acute and chronic musculoskeletal condition. At the completion of this objective student should be able demonstrate these basic skills as well understand the underlying principle of musculoskeletal ultrasound and electrodiagnosis. This elective is held virtually through Microsoft Teams.

The course aims to equip future physicians with the knowledge and tools to navigate complex health systems and become agents of change for better patient and population health outcomes. It moves beyond the traditional one-on-one patient-physician dynamic to explore the broader context in which care is delivered.

This series of electives are designed to support the Leadership and Advocacy distinction program.

The course aims to equip future physicians with the knowledge and tools to navigate complex health systems and become agents of change for better patient and population health outcomes. It moves beyond the traditional one-on-one patient-physician dynamic to explore the broader context in which care is delivered.

This series of electives are designed to support the Leadership and Advocacy distinction program.

This course will be examine the theoretical and practical implications of the modern healthcare system through the lens of critical race theory. CRT is a lens that seeks to unmask and illuminate structural and societal implications of race and racial disparities in the current healthcare system. After completing some required background readings, students will be permitted to explore any aspect of the issues raised and produce a basic research project.

A detailed inquiry into the theory, practice, and history of the narrative form in the context of the modern medico-industrial complex. Through the humanities and humanities-based analysis, students will be afforded the opportunity to develop their own creative skills, but also be able to gain new avenues to better connect with their patients. After completing some required background readings, students will be permitted to explore any aspect of the issues raised and produce a basic research project.

America has been described as a 'death denying culture'. Dying in America is a complex process. Legal, cultural, and medical barriers often prevent patient from dying in the manner, at the time, and in the location of their preference. A detailed inquiry into the physiological, legal, and social process of death and dying. This course will allow students to delve deeply into the philosophical and legal issues involved in death in America. After completing some required background readings, students will be permitted to explore any aspect of the issues raised and produce a basic research project.

Catholic Healthcare Ethics has played a significant role in the development of secular bioethics and continues to influence medical practice, at times controversially, in Church-owned and operated healthcare facilities and hospitals. This course will allow students to delve deeply into a current area of debate within Catholic Healthcare Ethics. After completing some required background readings, students will be permitted to explore any aspect of the issues raised and produce a basic research project.

"The past is never dead. It's not even past." - William Faulkner

The history of the field of medicine is the story of its current state. In this elective, students will develop a research question related to an area of individual interest, develop a bibliography, and stake a historian's position. After an initial period of inquiry and investigation, the student will produce a paper on their chosen topic relating to a particular period, movement, or figure in the history of medicine.

This elective course's primary objective is to study medicine and medical ethics through the lens of science fiction. Since at least the 1818 publication of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, science fiction has been a medium in and through which humanity has contemplated and processed complex metaphysical and ethical issues arising in current and future medicine.

While much science fiction is on the written page, much of it has been adapted or specifically created for film, television, or radio/podcast. This is especially true of science fiction concerning medicine, particularly modern medical technologies, which post-date the earliest decades of science fiction writing. To that end, this course examines science fiction themes in film, television, and radio/podcast.

Students will work alongside forensic pathology faculty and staff providing forensic pathology services in a high-volume medical examiner's office. Students will work alongside autopsy assistants, the forensic pathology fellow, and attending pathologists for five days, and will also attend daily forensic pathology conferences. Total time expectations will be 20-30 hours per week.

This longitudinal elective will take place in 10 one-hour sessions from 5:30-6:30pm with assigned practices and reflection to be done outside of class between sessions. We will start each session with an opening mediation, and then a brief check-in with students about the previous week. Then, we will introduce a new mindfulness technique (examples include eating meditation, walking meditation, and journaling), after which we will debrief about the experience. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know your peers in a small group environment, and to acquire tools to build resiliency in the challenging field of medicine. Students must attend 7 of the 10 dates for credit, and are encouraged to attend weekly.

This elective covers key concepts and strategies across multiple facets of mind-body-spirit wellness. Students are asked to reflect on the application of this content in relation to their own professional and personal well-being and to identify ways in which they can promote individual and institutional wellness in their daily interactions with peers, patients, and community members. The elective will be interactive and experientially based. A retreat day will be held in person as part of the elective, or virtually, as necessary.

The integration of spirituality into the practice of medicine holds many opportunities for deepening the meaning and impact of health care relationships for providers and patients alike. At the same time, multiple obstacles exist to practically implementing whole-person care in the ways encouraged in scholarly writings and training programs. This elective offers students an overview of existing resources and current research in this area, and invites them to reflect on their own values and interests in engaging in medical practice in a way that promotes mind-body-spirit well-being.