- College of Medicine Students
A rising second-year UCF medical student has co-founded the Medical Student Press www.themspress.org, an online open-access medical student publishing group.
Gabriel Glaun, a member of the College of Medicine’s class of 2017, is executive editor while Mica Esquenazi,a member of the University of Rochester School of Medicine’s class of 2017, is editor-in-chief. The two participated in publishing projects at their respective alma maters, Florida State University and Stanford University, and felt that medical students needed a platform to enable efficient collaboration and idea exchange.
“The Medical Student Press is filling a void in the medical student community,” Esquenazi said. “We are ensuring that medical students are actively expressing themselves and learning from one another outside the classroom and clinic.”
The first edition of the MSPress Journal, published this June, featured creative writing, original artwork, interviews, and original research on topics ranging from alternative medicine to brain cancer. Glaun did an interview with Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, chief of staff of the new Orlando VA Medical Center. Esquenazi interviewed Dr. Robert Montgomery, chief of transplantation at Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. Within its first week, the MSPress Journal received over 4,600 page views.
Thanks to social media, the young publishing group has connected with medical students from across the globe. Its editorial and blogging team is international, including students from Johns Hopkins University, Pennsylvania University, Brown University, Croatia, Slovenia, and Costa Rica.
Glaun calls the effort a great example of partnership. “Research is one of the ways we, as medical students, can contribute to the field of knowledge,” he said. “This publication allows us to put our work into practical application and share it with the world thanks to the power of our various publishing platforms.”
In addition to more formal communication, the MSPress Blog, is a social opportunity for students to share their experiences, fears, stresses and successes of medical school, he said.
Nadine Dexter, director of the UCF College of Medicine’s Harriett F. Ginsburg Health Sciences Library, applauded the students’ efforts, especially because the digital publication is accessible to all. “The fact that our medical students understand the value of open access to e-content for everyone is amazing,” she said. “Each article [of the MSPress Journal] undergoes a rigorous editorial procedure. The end result is a peer reviewed journal that provides immediate open access with the understanding that research should be freely available to the public. Their efforts support a global exchange of knowledge.”
Soon to debut is the the Medical Commencement Journal, which will publish graduation speeches from 2014. Featured speakers will include UCF President John C. Hitt, renowned author Dr. Abraham Verghese, and palliative care pioneer Dr. Timothy Quill. MS Press also publishes The American Medical Women’s Association’s AMWA’s Linda Brodsky Memorial Journal
To read the MSPress Journal, please visit http://www.themspress.org/
Follow the MSPress on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/medicalstudentpress) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/themspress)