Research opportunities for medical students: an approach to the physician-investigator shortage.

The recently documented decline in numbers of physician-scientists has broad implications not only for the quality of the clinical research which will be conducted in the next decade but also for the quality of the clinical education that future medical students will receive. The authors' recommendations about what can be accomplished at the medical school level to help reverse this decline are based upon a survey of research opportunities presently offered by schools and on an examination of research components in medical school curricula with special emphasis on the federally supported Medical Scientist Training Program. Three ways in which medical students may become involved in research are described, and each is examined for the purpose of increasing its effective utilization. A heightened understanding of the supply problem and greater interaction among deans, faculty, and students is indicated.