OSCRSJ — Orthopedic Surgery Case Reports & Series Journal
Research Training

OSCRSJ Research Scholars

A structured research-training program for pre-med students, medical students, and IMG candidates. Real methodology, real mentorship, real peer review.

Why this program

The opportunity gap is real

You cannot reach the top of orthopedics alone. You have to work in groups. Look up the research profiles of students matching at the top orthopedic residency programs and you will see the same pattern: a research year in a strong department, a mentor placing them on every project, or a team where candidates cross-pollinate on each other's work. That is how the publication numbers happen.

That ecosystem is much harder to access from a medical school without a strong orthopedic research department, and nearly impossible without an orthopedic program at all. The OSCRSJ Research Scholars program is built for those candidates. We teach the methodological skills that make a successful researcher, and we give you the structured opportunity to work on real projects in front of a real peer-reviewed journal.

We are strong proponents of working smarter, not harder. We are even stronger proponents of not flooding the orthopedic literature with low-value papers and inflated citations. The program emphasizes methodological rigor, careful attribution, and clinically meaningful questions.

Choose your track

Three tracks, one community

Every scholar, regardless of track, joins the same cohort community, shares mentor meetings and journal clubs, and learns the same core methodology. Tracks and tiers differ only in project scope and timeline.

For pre-med students

Pre-Med Scholar

Builds the research skills you need to be a competitive applicant to surgical specialties early in your training. Best for first-generation pre-meds and students without an established mentor network.

Tier 1$499/ 6 months
  • →Middle author on one database study supervised by a med student
  • →Abstract + manuscript writing instruction
  • →Zotero reference-management training
  • →Monthly project meeting + monthly "how to match into med school" Q&A
  • →Conference presentation / poster as the project goal
Tier 2$999/ 1 year
  • →Two research projects (one first-author on a database study or second author on SR/MA)
  • →Mock interview with feedback
  • →Pre-med to residency roadmap workshop
  • →Conditional medical-school LOR after completing 2 projects and 1 conference presentation
  • →Monthly project meeting + monthly "how to match" Q&A
For medical students

Med Student Scholar

Best for medical students at schools without a home orthopedics program, or for students who want a stronger research record going into a surgical residency application.

Tier 1$499/ 6 months
  • →2-3 research projects, including one first-author project
  • →Abstract + manuscript writing instruction
  • →Zotero reference-management training
  • →How to respond to reviewer feedback
  • →Monthly project meeting
Tier 2$999/ 1 year
  • →5-6 research projects (mix of SR/MA + database studies)
  • →2-3 first-author projects
  • →Full conference planning + submission support
  • →Shared calendar of conference and journal submission deadlines
  • →Away rotation planning + academic-researcher outreach templates
For international medical graduates

IMG Scholar

US research credentials and mentor letters from US-practicing orthopedic surgeons, for IMGs applying through ECFMG to US residency.

$299/ 6 months
  • →2-3 research projects, all first-author (deliberate)
  • →Abstract + manuscript writing instruction
  • →Zotero reference-management training
  • →How to respond to reviewer feedback
  • →Monthly project meeting
Methodology

Real training, real rigor

What turns "students writing reviews" into a credible research-training program is the methodology. Every cohort project, regardless of track, is built on the same scaffolding.

Cochrane training

The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews is the methodological bible. We cover protocol development, PICO question formulation, search strategy, risk-of-bias assessment (RoB 2.0, ROBINS-I, MINORS), meta-analysis statistics, GRADE quality rating, and PRISMA-compliant reporting.

PROSPERO registration

Every systematic review and meta-analysis is registered with PROSPERO before screening begins. The registration is an external commitment to the protocol, and that commitment is a defining feature of credible SR/MA work.

Structured timeline

Six- and twelve-month cadences with milestone gates: topic → PICO → PROSPERO → search → screening → extraction → RoB → synthesis → draft → submission. Each milestone gets mentor sign-off before the next begins.

Peer review

Publication is conditional on peer review

This is the most important sentence on this page: publication of any work produced in the Research Scholars program is conditional on independent peer review through OSCRSJ's standard editorial pipeline. The program promises training, mentorship, and structured project opportunities. It does not promise publication.

Manuscripts produced in the program go through OSCRSJ's double-blind peer review by reviewers outside of our network. Cohort manuscripts carry an explicit COI disclosure on submission, and cohort mentors are never involved in the editorial decision on their own scholar's manuscript.

We publish our cohort manuscript acceptance rate publicly each year. Transparency is part of the design, and it is the strongest signal that the peer review is real.

AI policy

How we use AI

Where AI helps

  • ✓Writing assistant for introductions, discussions, and flow editing
  • ✓Confirming claims when citing
  • ✓First drafts of methods and results sections
  • ✓Generating RStudio / Python analysis code (we still run the code, never inference in chat)

Where AI does not help

  • ✗Writing the first draft of your introduction or background section (the heart of the manuscript, where you actually learn your topic)
  • ✗Finding citations (still unreliable at the level research demands)

OSCRSJ has built Claude Skills for abstract writing, methods, results, and claim verification, made available to scholars as part of the curriculum.

FAQ

Common questions

Who is the ideal candidate for this program?▾
We see this as a learning opportunity in research methodology: how to write manuscripts and abstracts efficiently while working on real projects that give you meaningful conversations with program directors and attendings at conferences. The program is best suited to medical students at schools without a home orthopedics program who want research experience, and to students who want a stronger research record on their application. If your school does have a home ortho program, we strongly suggest checking in with your department first. That face-to-face interaction, and a letter of recommendation grounded in shared clinical and research work, is invaluable. If your home program is fully saturated, our program is a good way to keep building your research record while you wait for an opening.
How do people publish so much?▾
You cannot reach the top alone. You have to work in groups. Look up the research profiles of students matching at the top orthopedic residency programs, search them on PubMed, and you will see the same pattern repeat: (a) a research year at a program other than their medical school, (b) a research mentor who put them on every project, or (c) a research team where candidates cross-pollinate on each other's work. That is the reality of how the publication numbers happen. It is significantly harder to reach for students from medical schools without a strong ortho research department, and nearly impossible for students at schools without an ortho program at all. This program is built for those specific candidates. We want to break the barrier and create a version of that opportunity inside a real peer-reviewed journal.
Is publication guaranteed?▾
No. This is not a guaranteed-publication program. It is based on your work ethic. We provide the structure, tools, education, and projects. Publication of any work submitted to OSCRSJ is conditional on independent peer review through the journal's standard editorial pipeline. The program runs on strict deadlines; failure to meet program requirements will result in removal from the cohort.
Will OSCRSJ write me a letter of recommendation?▾
For residency applications, a letter of recommendation from someone who knows you and has worked with you in person carries the most weight. The virtual nature of this program makes it difficult for our attendings to write letters at that level. Scholars who complete the full program with at least three first-author projects can request a letter from us if they are short on letters when ERAS opens. We still strongly recommend prioritizing letters from people you have met and worked with in person.
How does OSCRSJ use AI in research?▾
AI in research is the reality of 2026. We are strong proponents of working smarter, not harder, and even stronger proponents of not flooding the orthopedic literature with low-value papers and inflated citations. AI should be used as a writing assistant for tightening introductions and discussions after you have written them, for confirming claims you cite, for drafting methods and results sections, and for generating analysis code (RStudio / Python). AI should not be used to find citations (still unreliable at the level research demands), or to write the first draft of your introduction or background. The introduction is the heart of the manuscript and the section where you actually learn the topic. OSCRSJ has built Claude Skills for orthopedic abstract writing, methods, results, and claim verification, made available to scholars as part of the curriculum.
What is the peer-review firewall?▾
Manuscripts produced in the program go through OSCRSJ's standard double-blind peer review by reviewers recruited from outside the OSCRSJ editorial board. Cohort manuscripts carry an explicit COI disclosure: "This manuscript was developed as part of the OSCRSJ Research Scholars program. Cohort mentors were not involved in the editorial decision." We publish our cohort manuscript acceptance rate publicly each year. Transparency is part of the design.
When does the next cohort start?▾
Applications are open now. The first cohort kicks off Q3/Q4 2026 once mentor pool and program infrastructure are finalized. We review applications on a rolling basis and will reach out within 2-3 weeks of your submission.
What happens to program materials?▾
All program materials are confidential. Sharing any program content from the moment you sign up will result in legal action.

Ready to apply?

Applications are open. We review every submission carefully and respond within 2-3 weeks.

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