Penn Orthopaedics Summer Scholarship (POSS) Program
Please check back for updates on the 2024 POSS program.
The Penn Orthopaedics Summer Scholarship (POSS) program provides funding ($1,000-$1,500 stipend) for two to three Penn medical students between their MS1 and MS2 years who have identified research opportunities in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn. Due to the competitiveness of matching into an orthopaedic residency program, research experience has become almost a prerequisite for medical students interested in applying to top training programs. The summer (8 weeks between MS1 and MS2) represents the perfect time for Penn students considering orthopaedics to establish research mentors and execute projects, and we are pleased to offer the first funded opportunity to do so in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn.
Scholarship applicants are required to identify an attending surgeon in the department who would be willing to serve as their mentor and principal investigator on a proposed research project. The application will include a list of prior research experience (though prior experience is not a prerequisite), brief description of the applicant’s interest in orthopaedic surgery, and a 2-page project proposal (see template and example) completed by the applicant with guidance and final approval from the proposed research mentor.
Scholarship recipients will be required to (1) present the work from their primary research project at the Penn Orthopaedics Research Day and (2) submit an article to the University of Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Journal (UPOJ). Scholarship recipients will also be expected to be a co-author on at least one project submitted to a national conference and/or a peer-reviewed journal for publication.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and considering the quality of the applications reviewed, the three announced awardees for the summer of 2020 were presented with $1000 awards independent of their respective research projects. This change notwithstanding, they were encouraged to participate in any planned research activities consistent with school of medicine and university guidelines and to report findings in future UPOJ publications and Research Day symposia. View last year's awardees. Should you have any further questions, please email pennmed.llos@gmail.com.