During the fall 2022 semester the School of Medicine piloted a clinical TA concept in which fourth year medical students (M4) participated as clinical TAs in the Introduction to Biomedical Engineering Design course in the Emory School of Medicine-Georgia Institute of Technology shared Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME).

In this undergraduate course, students work in teams to analyze existing medical devices utilizing problem-based learning and human-centered design methodologies to create an improved concept for a new patient population. At the end of the course, students have a working prototype and pitch their product to the class. The intent of the clinical TA is to increase the amount of clinical interaction for Georgia Tech undergrads and in return, the clinical TA learns basic engineering concepts and observes the human-centered design process in action to create new medical devices.

The clinical TAs agreed that M4s are the ideal candidates for this role, due to the time constraints on third year medical students and second year students lacking clinical experience. Four M4s were chosen for the pilot.

“This was a very neat experience that allowed me to gain exposure to the engineering framework and approach to problem-solving. My involvement has provided me with a new lens with which to approach other initiatives that I have committed to. The exposure provided through this opportunity is particularly valuable to me as it is unique and otherwise not available through the typical extra-curricular activities available to medical students,” says Mohamed Munye, clinical TA and MD candidate class of 2023, Emory School of Medicine.

BME faculty, clinical TAs, BME TAs and BME students all expressed overwhelming satisfaction with the pilot. In addition to providing clinical guidance and expertise, an unintended benefit of the clinical TA role was the mentoring that occurred between the clinical TA and BME students interested in going to medical school.