Distinction in Medical Education Program

Timeline/Guidelines for Achieving Distinction in Medical Education (DIME)

1. Students should show interest in academic medicine by seeking leadership positions, e.g. serving as student curriculum committee members and as course representatives, and engaging in volunteer or other teaching activities (service learning, Cognitive Skills teaching, etc.) in the first two years of medical school.

2. Students must complete the DIME Non-Credit Elective during M1 and M2 years by attending a minimum of 6 sessions over a two year period and by completing two required readings of their choice (click here to download the reading report form).

3. Students must submit Part 1 of the DIME application form by the end of second year to include completed and proposed activities (teaching and research/scholarly activities) to fulfill the DIME requirements. Teaching experience and educational scholarship prior to medical school will be looked upon favorably, but is not required.

4. Students must participate in an M3-M4 Academic Medicine Elective.

5. Students must select a mentor/collaborator, formulate an educational scholarly project, and submit Part 2 of the DIME application preferably by April 1 of the M3 year, but no later than July 15 of the M4 year.

6. All educational scholarly projects must be submitted by January 15 of the student's graduation year.

Guidelines for Scholarship in Education

Project proposals must be approved by a faculty mentor/collaborator and by 3 members of the DIME committee. Traditional research, as well as other forms of scholarship, are encouraged. Projects will be evaluated in light of the criteria established for all scholarship, and those used by peer reviewers to determine eligibility for dissemination on the AAMC’s MedEd PORTAL (Providing Online Resources To Advance Learning in Medical Education.)*

*“MedEdPORTAL was designed to serve as a prestigious publishing venue through which faculty may disseminate their educational works. An educational resource successfully peer-reviewed and published through MedEdPORTAL is comparable to a peer-reviewed research paper published through a reputable print-based journal and should be considered compelling scholarly contributions suitable for use to support promotion and tenure decisions.” Excerpted from the Association of American Medical Colleges MedEdPORTAL website.

To view more on the MedEdPORTAL, Click Here.