COVID-19 Updates

Will SPAN graduation requirements be decreased?

This is possible, but before we can finalize decisions, we need to know when SPAN can start. Once we know when we will be able to start up, again we will finalize this decision.

Can we get an update on SPAN? 

We are still awaiting assignment for SPAN.  We should have an update on SPAN in the next two-4  weeks after we receive guidance from UCSF Health. In the meantime, if you have specific questions or suggestions regarding the SPAN requirement, please reach out to the Course Director Katherine Lupton. 

Can we get an update on policies surrounding symptom screenings, temperature checks, COVID testing for students, and attendance as more and more of us go back to rotations?

Screening is a moving target, and different depending upon the healthsystem. Your rotation coordinator will be able to tell you what is required at each healthsystem. The good news is that testing availability is increasing. When tested, you will receive results in 24-36 hours.

If you have symptoms, please report them and submit your absence. Your safety and the safety of patients is most important. We will work with any student who has COVID related symptoms and you will not be penalized for reporting you are sick. 

If you are asymptomatic, please wear your masks, and be good ambassadors for masking. 

How far in advance should we reach out to get information about our May Sub-Internships (sub-Is)?

A general rule of thumb is that if it is two weeks before the start of your sub-I and you haven’t heard anything about the sub-I, then contact the sub-I coordinator. You can find out who your sub-I coordinator is by visiting here: https://coursecatalog.ucsf.edu/. Of course, if you have an urgent request, and the sub-I is cancelled, please let Wenia Lee know.

Where can I find the list of available sub-Is? Where can I find the list of available virtual electives? 

The list of available courses, including sub-Is and electives, are now available on Medhub. Once you log in, click on "Manage Enrollment" then select the "Course Catalog" tab. You can then sort the catalog by academic term. Courses that have availability will be indicated by a green "Add" button.

Are the changes referenced to sub-I’s for summer term or beyond? 

We are flexible. We don’t know how long the pandemic will go on or when there will be treatment or vaccine. 

When will 4a students likely be ranking electives for October - March 2021? 

We will reschedule the Round 2 Scheduling process once courses have stabilized. We will provide an update on this by mid-April.

What is the status of Deep Explore?

Many Deep Explore projects are continuing and others are changing. In addition, some students are working on COVID-related research activities. If there are issues related to your research project, let your Inquiry Advisor know.

Do the sub-Is that were reclassified as electives meet the sub-I requirement?

Yes. Please keep in mind that the move from a sub-I to an elective means that it is no longer an honors-eligible rotation, but it will still “count” toward the rotation requirement. For those who are taking the rotation in order to be eligible for honors, or who want the clinical experience, we suggest scheduling it later in the year when clinical time will likely be more available.

NRMP COVID FAQs

What guidance do you have for students who can’t take Step 2 CK before residency applications are due? 

With Prometric centers and 6 regional centers opening at medical schools including UCSF, availability for Step 1 and Step 2 CK exams has increased by 4,000 per month. There shouldn’t be a scheduling reason to not take it. We’re hearing from individual specialty societies about what is changing and while some programs might not look as closely at these scores, many programs will still require them. We recommend that you take the test and get it out of the way because you’ll get a higher score closer to when you took your core clerkships. 

How can students who have not finished MSPE research projects before their residency applications are due address this in their applications?

If you have something accepted like an abstract or a publication, you can send it to LJ Moore McLelland and we can include that in your MSPE. If it’s still under review at the tine the MSPE goes out, you can include that you have done the scholarly work with a description of your project and your role – in your personal statement, activities list, and interviews.

There’s also a place on the ERAS application where you put down research the status of your research project. If you have an updated piece of information such as a new accepted manuscript after October, you can send the update directly to residency programs, but make sure you send separate emails to each residency program.

Are UCSF residency programs going to consider our own medical students more favorably in this round?

We anticipate that applicants will choose to stay closer to their current regions, but residencies will still be interested in accepting people from across the country. This question applies nationally. This is the first year residency programs are doing virtual interviews and we’ll know more as interviews start. 
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Will there be changes to the residency application process this year?

All UCSF Away Rotations have been suspended. 

Residency application dates have changed. See below: 

June 8, 2020: 
ERAS 2021 Begins - Applicants can register in MyERAS and begin working on their applications.

September 1, 2020: 
Applicants may begin submitting applications to residency programs.October 21, 2020:
Residency programs may begin reviewing applications. 
MSPEs released to residency programs

When will a final decision be made regarding in-person vs. virtual residency interviews? 

There will be virtual interviews at UCSF and we are working with the other deans to have a system wide approach that aligns with that.  The national guideline is for virtual interviews; we will see how many programs follow this guideline.

Could UCSF provide resources (private rooms, mock interviews, computers/equipment) to students for virtual interviews this Fall?

Yes. We will look into the possibility of giving students the option to access rooms for virtual interviews. Please give us time to work on this, and we will keep you updated. 

For students taking a year off, how will applying for residency in 2021 be impacted? Do you think that next year will have high numbers of students (from both gap year students and incoming students) applying into limited residency spots?

No, we are not seeing that trend here at UCSF. Our numbers of students taking a leave of absence are the same as in prior years.
 
Will residency programs be getting more applications given COVID disruptions and also virtual interviews?  

This is quite possible. We have advocated at the national level to have a cap on the number of applications per student, based on data that the AAMC has published about the ideal number of applications per student in a given specialty. The Coalition specifically did NOT endorse this approach.  We work hard to advise our students to apply wisely based on their academic portfolio and their chosen specialty. More is not necessarily better. 

Given residency programs will not have access to ERAS until October, is it anticipated that the interview season will also be delayed 1 month? How should we schedule rotations this fall to allow for interviews? 

Yes, interviews generally start in October/November. This year they will likely begin in late October, November. Scheduling around rotations should be easier since you will not be traveling for interviews. Since interviews are being done virtually, you will only need to plan for 2 hour blocks of times for interviews. 

Will the MSPE timeline be adjusted to reflect the 1 month delay in application process?

The MSPE will be released on October 21 the same day as the ERAS applications. Your draft of the MSPE will be available for review during ARCH week 6, in August. 

Will the MSPE now include evaluations through September? 

Evaluations that are submitted by October 11 will be included in the MSPE.

What is the status of AOA?

Effective for the Class of 2021, UCSF has suspended its affiliation with AOA. On ERAS, students are asked whether their Institution has an AOA Chapter; your response will be NO.  Learn why the School of Medicine has suspended  affiliation with AOA.

Should we delay ERAS submission if we are awaiting a Step score?  

Hopefully, with the expected improvements in testing availability, all will be able to take Step exams to be submitted with the application on or near October 21st.  It is not advisable to delay submission waiting for score.  Please discuss this with a Career Advisor for special situations.

How are we able to understand fit with a program if we can't meet residents or see the physical sites? Do you anticipate ANY interviews being in person this cycle?  

The fact that interviews will be held virtually does not mean you won’t be able to see the physical sites or check for fit. We are working with our own residency on videos and technologies that will allow them to connect with and develop relationships with their applicants. I imagine that programs will have options for you to talk to residents one on one or in groups and to take virtual tours. It isn’t ideal but it is the best we can do during this pandemic.  As Dean Jones mentioned, we do think that if the pandemic quiets down, there may be the option of “first look” visits in the beginning of 2021.  

What is the deadline for recommendation letters now?  

One should aim for having 2-3 letters in for programs’ opening of your application on October 21st.  Departmental letters and letters from a September rotation may come in a week or so after October 21st.

Will programs be mostly accepting their own medical students into their programs? Will UCSF programs be doing so? 
We don’t know the answer to this. We do think that the pandemic may make some students more interested in staying near their home base rather than moving to a new city—particularly if they haven’t had the chance to visit that city during interviews. We have seen that happen with faculty recruitments—people are craving stability and moving across country may not provide them with that. It would not be surprising to see that residency programs that start in 2021 may have a greater percentage of residents from their own region than in the past. 
 
What is the cap on the number of residency applications per students? 

Based on national conversations, we do not think there will be a cap on residency applications or interviews this year.

Here are links to AAMC data on the number of residency applications:

How many residency applications? 
Data to Consider When Applying to Residency

How can we get this same type of career exploration and exposure with limited clinical opportunities? 

• We encourage you to utilize our Career Advising Directors - Dr. Heather Whelan and Dr. Brent Kobashi. They are a great resource as you explore different career options. They are working closely with the Career Specialty Advisors to support you as the curriculum and national landscape changes. They will be sharing regular updates with students. 
• You can also visit our Career Advising website. It has information on different specialties, videos from all the ARCH week career advising sessions, career exploration roadmap and checklists, and a list of the Career Advisors in a variety of specialties who can answer your questions.

I want to apply in internal medicine but am not assigned to an internal medicine sub-I before residency applications are due. Is the school still planning to create sub-I spots for these students? 

Yes, we are working with the Department of Medicine to address this and we will work with you and make sure you are prepared to apply for residency.


How should we be approaching away rotations/Sub-Is from a career planning perspective? 

We expect a national decision about away rotations in mid-May. In the meantime, individual specialties have provided guidelines on away rotations relevant to residency applications. In addition, UCSF clinical departments have provided specialty-specific guidance. Keep in mind, many clinicians are very busy now, so when you email them, acknowledge you know they are busy with COVID-19, and that you do not expect an immediate response.

How will a movement toward more virtual clinical experience impact grading?

If you are just interested in exploring a field, and the elective does not require clinical activities, those electives would be pass/fail. For example, if you are taking a rotation for a letter of recommendation, telehealth and other virtual learning still provides an opportunity for faculty to evaluate students and write letters of recommendation. The rotations we have set up as required clinical rotations, those cannot be non-clinical and will require patient-care component. We are working with the course and clerkship directors to split the rotation in two components, one component may be telehealth which will then be supplemented with an aspect of the rotation which involves in-person clinical care. The rotations we have set up as required clinical rotations must be clinical and will require a patient-care component.

If I am engaged in virtual clinical experience and I live in a small or crowded apartment, how do I maintain HIPAA?

Utilize headsets and earbuds. Disclose your concerns with your attendings and directors to get their advice. Use your best judgment in protecting answers about our patients. 

What quarantine requirements will be made for Career Launch students returning from outside the Bay Area?
 
For now, please check with student health about your unique situation. Depending on where you are returning from, the guidelines may change. Campus will be providing more specific information about these guidelines in the next 7-10 days.

May we opt out of having virtual/remote elective summary comments be included in the MSPE? 

Some shorter and/or elective rotations have traditionally generated shorter narratives than core clerkships or subinternships. Some rotations have already existed that do not involve face to face patient contact. However, we don’t omit those comments or view that they take away from longer narratives or narratives that discuss your in-person contact with patients and teams. Rather, they provide added information, even if briefly, about patient care skills.

I have questions about my ability to meet graduation requirements?

For specific questions regarding your graduate requirements, please reach out to your Career Launch advisor, Wenia Lee.

For F2 students planning to take a year off do you advise postponing Step 1 or Step 2 CK?

We would be cautious about delaying because of the “forgetting curve.” It’s easy to lose a lot of the information and it’s better to take Step 1 or Step 2 CK closer to time you finish F2.
 

What does my F2 Curriculum look like as of April 1, 2020?

Clerkships for Blocks 2 through 6 have all been divided into two parts to enable you to work towards mastering all F2 milestones during these challenging times.  

• Core Clerkships Part A: Extended Mastery Learning Rotations (EMLR): Core clerkship rotations involving remote learning strategies, focused on ensuring that you master the medical knowledge and complete the clerkship exam required for that clerkship.
• Core Clerkships Part B: Workplace Learning Rotations: Clinical rotations through departments sponsoring core clerkships, with students participating in direct patient care activities on resident and faculty teams.

 FOUNDATIONS 2 logistical information 

I am a July 2019 start F2 Student, what are my options as of April 1, 2020?

• Because you are close to the end of your F2 year and further delay in completing your core clerkships may lead to a delayed graduation, we are prioritizing your clinical rotations along with Career Launch 4a students, that is, after the 4b required sub-internships and before the 2020 F2 students.

Will I lose my vacation?

No, your vacation time should not be disrupted by the changes to Foundations 2. In fact, by taking didactic material now as part of EMLR, it should minimize the didactic time in the later clinical experience rotation. If you have follow-up questions, please reach out to your F2 Advisor, Nikki Williams.

How will changes impact longitudinal integrated (LIC) clerkships?

We have been in contact with our LIC directors. The LICs have verified that they have adequate physician educational capacity and have primarily incorporated students in telehealth and other activities that do not involve direct patient contact. They will continue their schedule of activities, abiding by the same clinical parameters as for traditional clerkship students.

What is going to happen with site-based clerkships like VALOR and Model SFGH?

We are in contact with the directors of each of these programs, who are looking at options to do remote learning and asynchronous learning sessions. They will be in touch.

How will FCM be structured with these changes?

Family and Community Medicine longitudinal rotations will be on hiatus until we can confirm that all sites have the appropriate PPE for our students. In addition, in support of social distancing, we will be suspending rotations that require our students to travel outside of the City of San Francisco. Only telehealth activities will be permitted. During the EMLR rotations, FCM time will still happen on Monday mornings. If there are not small groups happening, the time can be used for cases. The FCM exam is planned for the end of the year, as part of the regular schedule.

Do students need to be in San Francisco between now and July 1st?

While it is possible to participate in this portion of the F2 curriculum remotely, you should be aware of the challenges of returning if clinical clerkships are able to open in May and June. If clinical clerkship sites for students open up earlier than expected, we would expect students to return to UCSF sooner than July. Therefore, if you want to leave the Bay area, and you can based on the status of travel bans, you need to think about if you will have the ability to return to the Bay area sooner than originally planned.

Is there any discussion about F2 being extended into 2021?

Not at this time, but we are continuing to monitor the situation. Our goal is to move students through the curriculum so that you graduate and match on time. We will utilize other instructional methods to help you meet your Doctor of Medicine competencies and milestones.

Will the lack of standard shelf exams impact our residency application?

No, we have never reported clerkship exams in the MSPE or as part of your residency application.

For F2 students who are interested in taking a gap year or MSTP students: Is there any information about whether our Step 1 scores will be retrospectively considered Pass/Fail?

No, there is no information yet from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) or NRMP about how these scores will be handled in the match after Step 1 goes to P/F.

What will Anesthesia be doing since there is no shelf exam?

The Anesthesia clerkship director is working with the clerkship directors in Surgery and OB to supplement learning in Anesthesia to account for this.

Will our Performance on the NBME self assessment impact our clerkship grade?

No, your score will not impact your grade or influence your summary clerkship evaluations. You will complete the exam requirement by taking the assessment. If a clerkship director/coordinator notices that your NBME test score is very low, they may reach out to offer resources to help you master this knowledge.

Can you take the NBME self assessment earlier if you would like?

Yes, you can choose to take the NBME self-assessment earlier in the 3-week mastery learning portion of a clerkship if you feel ready. The requirement is that you take it by the end of the three-week block.

NRMP COVID FAQs

Are our CIEXs cancelled through July or for the whole year?

For now, the CIEX rotations are cancelled through July. We will reevaluate in July if we have the clinical sites and faculty available to bring the CIEXs back later in the year.

Since we will not have CIEXs, what do you recommend we do to begin our career exploration?

• Keep in mind, COVID-19 is a national issue, and specialty organizations and their residency programs are thinking about this on a national scale and discussing possible adjustments necessary. The whole nation is figuring this out. This is not a UCSF-only issue.
• Our Career Advising website is a good resource and has videos from all of our ARCH week career advising sessions, a list of specialty and confidential career advisors, post-match reports which includes feedback from graduating students, and career advising checklists.
• For information on contacting your specialty advisor, please visit our Specialty Residency Information and Advising page. Many clinicians are very busy now, so if you email them, please acknowledge that you know they are busy with COVID-19, and that you do not expect an immediate response.
• If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to schedule an appointment with Heather Whelan and Brent Kobashi, our Co-Directors of the Career Advising Program. We encourage you to reach out to graduating MS4s who recently matched. They can tell you about how they chose their specialty, and what resources they used in the process of selecting a specialty and applying for residency.

Will students be able to rank or suggest preferences for where they are placed?

We know it’s important to you and want to be able to give you that option so we will do our best to offer you preferences, but we cannot promise this. We are working to determine site availability.
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With these changes, will I miss valuable clinical learning activities that will make me a great doctor?

Please know that any decision your deans and clerkship directors make are based on ensuring these two key priorities 1) our students will develop the skills they need to be a great doctor. 2) our students will develop the skills they need to to be prepared for internship.

We are modifying the existing Foundations 2/Career Launch curriculum to satisfy both of these goals. In regards to your core clerkships, it is important to recognize that it is not the length of the time on the clerkship that determines your competency. We will ensure that you have the educational experiences needed to be a great doctor and meet our milestones. In regards to your Sub-Is to help you prepare for residency, we will be working closely with your specialty advisors and Co-Directors of the Career Advising Program, Heather Whelan and Brent Kobashi, to make sure that you get the experiences you need to meet your career goals.

Is there a way to have more EMLR time for longer clerkships (8 weeks vs. 2 weeks)?

We have been working with the clerkship directors on the design of the EMLR, and the clerkship directors felt that the three week dedicated study blocks are sufficient for learning didactics for each clerkship, and even longer than the time most students will need to learn the material.

What resources are available for students who need help with the transition from the busy clinical clerkship environment to the less structured EMLR?

We know that it can be quite a shift going from the busy clerkship environment to the relatively less-structured EMLR, so we want to encourage you to take advantage of available resources if you find you need help. Susan Whitlow, our learning specialist, and various 4th year medical student tutors are available to help. Please contact Xavier Macy if you are interested in tutoring.

Can students take EMLR exams earlier or later?

Yes. Additional details: 

• Taking exams earlier: You will still need to obtain the link for your exam from the relevant clerkship. The intent of the Mastery Learning rotation is that you budget your time for the different exams as needed, and you can choose to devote more studying where needed to master the content for each clerkship’s exam.
• Delaying exams: You will need to notify your clerkship that you will need to delay your exam. You will then have to make up that exam during the week of ARCH 6 (near the end of August).

What should students do if they have EMLR scheduling issues?

While the scheduling is intended to be flexible for you to take advantage of asynchronous activities, remember that Page 2 of 3 activities for the clerkship you are in (including IDS 113 and FCM) should take precedence over COVID elective or other volunteer activities. If there are issues, please reach out to your clerkship or to Nikki Williams to let us know so we can help.

How are student voices being considered in the design of the Clinical Experience Rotation?

Student members of the Medical Education Student Council are part of the F2/Curriculum governance committee/working group to help design the Clinical Experience Rotation. Please reach out to Maria Castro, Alex Merriman, and Carmen Lee if you would like to be involved.

Why can’t students return to clerkships when clerkships are ready to have students?

This is a school-wide, rather than departmental decision. We need to preserve clinical sites to ensure that the rising fourth years and graduating class meet the clinical requirements they need to stay on track for graduation. For the F2 students, we have more flexibility to ensure that you will have all the clinical requirements you need to meet our graduation competencies and graduate.

Who makes the decision about bringing students back to the clinical sites earlier?

This is a decision made at the dean level in partnership with our clerkship and sub-internship directors. We want to ensure that 1) clinical environments have sufficient quantities of PPE and that student presence does not increase the risk to patients, themselves, or other healthcare professionals, and 2) that our graduating students and rising fourth year students have the opportunity to fulfill their sub-internship requirements.

Can we choose to shorten some clerkships over others to specialize in the clerkships of choice?

Our goal is to make sure that all students meet the core clinical experiences and learning objectives of the clerkships so that you can meet UCSF’s graduation competencies and graduate on time.

Clerkship directors are looking for opportunities where some clinical experiences and lectures may overlap to see if we can shorten some requirements where possible. However, we will not be shortening clerkships based on individual student specialty choice. You will have other opportunities for career exploration.

Will we have to make up clerkships/sessions missed?

Our goal is to develop alternatives that will help students graduate on time, meet all the graduation milestones, and minimize disruption to the match. This may include delivering didactics in advance of clinical activities and/or reducing the time of clinical activities.

In general, nationally, everyone is thinking more about competency based education. The competency-based model focuses on achieving the competency within a clerkship rather than focusing on the length of time in a clerkship. With many schools’ hiatus, there will be more variability in clerkships format and length, while ensuring that student achieve competence.

How is the school preparing for potentially having to pull students out of clinical environments if there’s a resurgence in the pandemic?

If COVID-19 cases increase, as is very possible, we will be well prepared. We will have learned a lot more about transmission of the virus, treatment of severe complications, and what it takes to institute required measures. Our supply chains will be more robust if that were to happen and we would still have access to testing. Thus our goal is that these preparatory steps minimize any risk that students would need to be pulled from rotations. 
 

Do students really need to return to San Francisco?

Yes, medical students should return to San Francisco because we are hopeful your curriculum will consist of a mix of remote and in-person learning. We do know it’s problematic to stay in San Francisco because of cost of living. We thought a great deal about whether this was necessary and decided we need you to get back into clinical experiences. This may mean small groups in Kanbar and preceptorships in clinical environments. We looked at many different approaches: Frontloading, backloading, delaying until January and settled on this hybrid approach as the most feasible way to support the public health pandemic and keep you moving forward. 

Will incoming students also be moving to San Francisco this fall? 

Yes, we will be advising first year medical students to secure housing in San Francisco. We also hope that they will be experiencing a mix of remote and on-campus learning. 

If students who are in the same small group can conveniently get together face to face and connect into small group activities what would the school think about this?

We know that different counties are moving into different phases of reopening. These types of activities may be ok in the future, but we’ll need to treat any interaction with others appropriately: with proper physical distancing, face masks, etc.

Will in-person activities be deemed mandatory, or will there be options to participate fully in the curriculum remotely?

We are anticipating that your class will meet weekly in your coaching groups or preceptorships in person—not once or twice a quarter but most, if not all weeks. The only in-person activities that are being allowed to go forward are those where participating in these is deemed critical to making progress in the curriculum. These include essentials of physical exam skills, etc. Therefore, these sessions are mandatory.
 
We anticipate that the impact of COVID will last until a vaccine is readily available—and that may extend into 2021.  Our plan for resuming in-person experiences that are essential to advancing you towards graduation has been designed to minimize risk as much as possible by providing PPE and limiting in person activities to small, stable groups of your classmates. 

We understand that students may feel that this is not the right time to move forward with their participation in the curriculum, based on a variety of personal circumstances. Xavier Macy and others in SET are able to help with exploring options that are available.

Does the school feel F1 students are prepared for F2 given the lack of hands-on skills training we had this year?

Faculty are already thinking forward to what will happen this fall to ensure that everyone has the skills necessary to meet the objectives at the end of F1. We have end of F1 milestones that everyone must meet. That allows us to do everything we’re doing now to redesign curriculum as needed to ensure that everyone has physical exam skills and history taking skills. 

Is the plan for F2 to go back to clinicals on July 13?

Yes, unless we have something unanticipated between now and then. We plan to let people rejoin the wards at that time.

How will we continue to gain physical exam skills while we are learning remotely? 

Students will continue to work on all patient care skills, including note writing and patient presentations, and this includes the physical exam. In the current setting, the observational parts of the physical exam are still able to be practiced and that will continue to be a part of the curriculum. Also, we are working on adjusting the remainder of the curriculum to maximize the impact of physical exam sessions when students return in the fall to make sure that everyone meets the end of F1 milestones and enters F2 prepared with the physical exam skills they need to succeed.

If you want to work clinically in the summer in the Bay Area (e.g. Chinatown hospital) what should we do? 

Complete the External COVID Work and volunteer form and submit it to Lee Jones. 

Will there be an ability to continue shadowing in preceptorships?

Our goal is to monitor the situation carefully and have some opportunities for preceptorships. We’re working to get parameters for availability of clinical sites. Priority will be given for those of you entering F2 because those are a critical part of your education. 

What is happening with procedure and skills-oriented electives? 

We will have to wait to get a better sense of the Kanbar’s capacity to see how they’re doing. We have to prioritize clinical skills education within the different health professions. We also have to take into account the state of the pandemic. All the electives have a faculty advisor and we’ll be working with faculty advisors so those will be your best initial contacts.

What is going on with the longitudinal programs (e.g., PISCES) for both class of 2022 and class of 2023?

We will provide information about LIC options relevant to your class at the same time we give updates on F2 in general, shortly after you return from summer break.

Will my summer explore activities be cancelled?

Contact your summer explore faculty advisor and/or Inquiry advisor for guidance. This will be determined on a project-by- project basis as it really depends on what type of research you are doing. Your advisors are prepared to respond to projects as necessary to make them more conducive. A lot of investigators are talking about how to modify research projects in general such as doing a literature review or case review.

What resources are available for people who didn't receive explore funding? Are there alternative sources of funding for Summer Explore?

Many mentors are available, some may have more time since they're not seeing as many patients. Use labspot and UCSF profiles to find mentors. We recommend identifying 3-4 promising mentors Your inquiry advisor can help you narrow it down to someone who has worked with students and help you make a connection. Remember, students are a gift to faculty researchers. Ask your PIs or mentor  if they have availability to use lab or research group funding. You will likely be surprised with the answer. You could also visit the Inquiry Funding Opportunities page to look for other partial funding. 

What do we do if our Summer Explore project is patient-facing?

Check in with your mentor and the Inquiry team. Even if original project is put on hold, your faculty mentor might know people who have alternatives that aren't in person.

How has the IRB process been impacted?

The IRB process has not been significantly impacted. COVID projects are reviewed rapidly, but non-COVID proposals are being reviewed as well.