NCFMRMS Scholarship Recipient Report
Andrea Colt
Keck School of Medicine of USC
MS3
Thanks to the generous scholarship from the Los Angeles Academy of Family Physicians, I was able to attend the 2017 AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students. I was one of 30 medical students and residents selected to present a research poster at this conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
My research investigated adolescent sleep and well-being through an educational intervention course I designed and taught. Many physicians who came by my poster were intrigued by the significant findings: with this education, students slept more hours per night, had more consistent bed times throughout the week, and learned that weekend “catch-up” sleep is not advised since it interferes with circadian rhythms, but consistent bed times are better. In my research, I was also pleasantly surprised, as were those who discussed the project with me, to find that students were motivated to reduce their electronic use in order to improve their sleep, and that after this course, fewer students reported concerning levels of depression. At the conference, I had many enthusiastic discussions about the implications these results have for adolescent health and what we in medicine can do to further screening tools, education, and interventions regarding sleep, electronics, and depression. It was so nice to be around like-minded people who care about the health of the whole person and are especially interested in adolescent health.
Besides the poster presentation, I enjoyed connecting with other medical students, residents and residency representatives. I spent time with medical students in years 2 through 4 from various schools as we shared some famous Kansas City barbecue and tips for studying, 4th year, and residency application. I also attended some of the workshops and lectures and found the Applying to Residency workshop especially useful.
I would not have been able to attend the conference without this scholarship. So again, I am very grateful to LAAFP for making it possible for me to attend my first conference, present my research on this scale, and learn more about residency and family medicine.
