Gold Student Summer Fellowships

Gold Student Summer Fellowships

Applications for 2020 Student Summer Fellowships are now CLOSED. 

Due to the ever-changing and unprecedented COVID-19 situation, please contact Director of Program Initiatives Louisa Tvito at ltvito@gold-foundation.org with any questions about the Gold Foundation programs or their status.

The Gold Student Summer Fellowship program offers opportunities for medical students to complete a research or service project related to community health. Projects must be focused on understanding and/or enhancing culturally competent practice, developing skills to become a relationship-centered physician, and addressing a public health need in an underserved community or population. We are particularly interested in projects that encourage collegial and interprofessional teamwork, are creative, and designed and implemented by students, and, will encourage a lasting or systemic change.

There are two types of fellowships:

The Gold Student Summer Research Fellowship is awarded for research in community health, cultural competency issues and vulnerable population health concerns. The research focus should be on humanistic patient care and as such the proposal should show significant interaction with the target patient population.

The Gold Student Summer Service Fellowship is intended to provide students an opportunity to design and implement a service project addressing a public health need in an underserved community or population. The Foundation’s goal is to provide an opportunity for students to work directly with patients and to become more compassionate, relationship-centered physicians.

Contact our staff: Louisa Tvito

Who is Eligible?

Medical students at an accredited U.S. or Canadian school of allopathy or osteopathy may apply for either the Research or Service Fellowships (details below).

Project Details

The grant award includes a stipend of up to $4,000 for a 10-week period.

The student is expected to conduct the project under the oversight of a mentor (the student is responsible for identifying an appropriate mentor from their school). Multiple students can work together and submit one application.

Application due date: March 13, 2020

How to Apply for  a Research Fellowship

  • All applications must be submitted using this online form (now closed)
  • Documents must be named using the following format: lastname_firstname_documenttype, e.g. Simmons_Amanda_MentorForm_
Your application must include:
  • Electronic application (register/log-in to grant request system)
  • Mentor Form A (download and attach to application)
  • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)
  • Letter of support from the Student Affairs or Medical Education Dean must accompany all applications. The letter must state that: 1) the student is presently in good academic standing, 2) the school approves of the mentor and the location of the project, and, 3) the school is willing to accept and administer the grant on the student’s behalf.
  • Proposal (2-3 pages) including:
    • abstract
    • hypothesis
    • objectives and significance
    • background and literature review with appropriate citations (citations do not count toward page limit)
    • research design and methodology (if IRB approval/exemption is necessary, please provide application status)
    • expected level of direct patient interaction during course of the fellowship
    • possibility for research to continue after student fellowship
    • thoughtful discussion of how this fellowship might contribute to the applicant’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine as well as the patient experience with illness, their health and the healthcare system (at least two paragraphs in length)
    • timeline of planned project activities

How to Apply for a Service Fellowship

  • All applications must be submitted using this online form (now closed)
  • Documents must be named using the following format: lastname_firstname_documenttype, e.g. Simmons_Amanda_MentorFormB
Your application must include:
  • Electronic application (register/log-in to grant request system)
  • Mentor Form A(download and attach to application)
  • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)
  • Letter of support from the Student Affairs or Medical Education Dean must accompany all applications. The letter must state that: 1) the student is presently in good academic standing, 2) the school approves of the mentor and the location of the project, and, 3) the school is willing to accept and administer the grant.
  • Proposal (2-3 pages) including:
    • a statement of need identifying and providing background on the public health issue and population being addressed
    • background and literature review with appropriate citations (citations do not count towards page count)
    • a detailed implementation plan to address these needs (if IRB approval/exemption is necessary, please provide application status)
    • an evaluation component to assess impact of student’s intervention
    • expected level of direct patient interaction during course of the fellowship
    • comment on possibility for project to continue after the summer fellowship
    • a statement on opportunity for student to present work to faculty and peers, and possibility for publication and/or other forms of dissemination, such as poster sessions
    • thoughtful discussion of how this fellowship might contribute to the applicant’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine as well as the patient experience with illness, their health and the healthcare system (this section should be at least two paragraphs in length)
    • timeline of planned project activities

Reporting Requirements

A final report describing the project and a  student reflection are due in Fall 2020

  • Final report must include:
    • a description of the investigation/implementation and activities undertaken
    • qualitative and/or quantitative data and its significance
    • conclusions and impact including whether or not the original goals were met
    • evaluation of project (include tools, methods used, work to date if part of a larger project)
    • comment on possibility for continuation of this research
    • discussion of how this fellowship has contributed to the Fellow’s understanding of the practice of humanistic medicine – based on your experience, speak on/discuss the patient/provider relationship as well as the patient’s experience with illness, and the healthcare system
    • what avenues are available to you for dissemination or presentation of your project, including potential publication? Describe any steps you have taken or identified to disseminate your project
    • pictures that document the student’s experience
    • headshot for publication on website
    • Mentor Form B (download and return completed form)
    • On-site Supervisor Form (only required if project takes place off-site or overseas)
  • For the Student Reflection answer the following questions:
    • What about your summer fellowship experience had the most impact on you and why?
    • What was the most challenging aspect of your fellowship and why?
    • How has the fellowship affected the way you will approach patients?
    • What did you discover about yourself during this process?
    • Do you think your Gold Student Summer Fellowship will strengthen your ability to connect with your future patients?
      • a) No
      • b) Yes
      • How? _____________________________
    • Compared to other medical school experiences so far, both in and out of the classroom, how does your Gold Student Summer Fellowship rank among experiences that will help strengthen and humanize your future connection with patients?
      • My fellowship experience ranks at the top
      • My fellowship experience ranks within my top 5 experiences
      • My fellowship experience ranks in the top half of experiences
      • My fellowship experience ranks in the bottom half of experiences
      • My fellowship experience will make no difference in my future connections with patients.
      • Other: ___________________
  • After the conclusion of the grant, we will likely follow up with several additional questions regarding your experience a Student Summer Fellow.

Some well-conceived projects may fail or yield ambiguous results when unexpected problems are encountered. In all cases, students should write a clear and candid appraisal of the project and interpretations of the collected data.

2019 Student Summer Fellows

Angela Chang and Rebekah Boyd Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
Interdisciplinary Refugee Partnership in Health: A Pilot Project

Cassidy Muir Loyola University Chicago
Assessment of Different Interpretation Modalities in Limited English Proficiency Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department

Ashish Bibireddy University of Central Florida
A Case for Supportive Housing Programs: Assessing Longitudinal Blood Pressure Readings and PHQ-9 Scores in Chronically Homeless Individuals

Katherine Ku Touro University California
“Turning walls into doors – from incarceration to inspiration” – Transitions Photovoice Project

Virginia Ju University of Michigan  
Scientific Enrichment to Empower Developing Students (SEEDS)

Aparna Nutakki Rush Medical College
Patient Perceptions of Patient-Centered Healthcare in Zambia

Pooja Shah Wake Forest University
Knowledge, attitudes, and HPV vaccine intention among women in South India