Student Research Initiative of Western Australia

STRIVE WA, is a research collaborative led by medical students from the University of Western Australia, the University of Notre Dame Fremantle and Curtin University. Our roles cover three key domains:

• To facilitate medical student participation in audit and research.
• To foster the growth of audit and research skills through active participation in all stages of the project cycle.
• To advocate for student involvement in projects where there is opportunity.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, STRIVE WA has liaised with the state’s three medical schools to oversee research-related activities in response to the outbreak. We are passionate about helping the healthcare system, devoted to playing a role in mitigating a potential health crisis and have the numbers to do so.

Our primary and secondary objectives are to:

1. Meaningfully contribute to the COVID-19 response through research-related activities
2. Enhance student learning experiences during withdrawal from clinical placements

Professor Toby Richards set up and has worked successfully with STRIVE WA in the past and is a strong advocate for student involvement in audit and research based on the platform: –

STARSurg – STudent Audit and Research in Surgery

Students are able to adapt and be medically engaged from a more isolated working environment. The following graduate outcomes which apply to this initiative have been transcribed from the Australian Medical Council’s ‘Standards for Assessment and Accreditation of Primary Medical Programs’. 

Research opportunities with COVID Research Response (CRR) team and STRIVE

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Western Australia hopes to take effective measures to mitigate the deleterious effects of the impending disaster. A cohesive, pan-WA response from the COVID Research Response (CRR) team and Student Research Initiative of Western Australia (STRIVE WA); alongside UWA, the University of Notre Dame and Curtin University will underpin all research efforts.

In the coming days, an expression of interest (EOI) form will be made available to all medical students in WA. This form will be used to develop a database of students who are willing to contribute to COVID-19 research, in any capacity.

As a guide, students will be requested to dedicate 5-10 hours per week to research-related activities with potential for more if desired. At this stage students will work from home or in the education centre of Harry Perkins South, under social distancing requirements. Students will be allocated to mini-teams of 6-18 people, with a chief investigator to oversee the team’s function. Project duration will vary depending on its nature.

Desired skills include Good Clinical Practice (GCP), REDCap and/or informed consent training. These skills are not pre-requisites and we encourage everybody to apply, irrespective of year level and experience. Links to these training programs are below.

Due to the rapidly evolving circumstances, there are not yet any concrete research projects, however there are at least 47 in the pipeline. Through this research you have a unique opportunity to make a difference to the local, national and global response to the pandemic whilst gaining invaluable experience. Please contact strivewa@gmail.com to arrange for further discussions.