Burnett School of Medicine Student’s Narcan Project Provides Essential Data

FORT WORTH – All academic research isn’t cut from the same cloth.

For students at the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University, their passions can lead to great research.

All medical students must complete a four-year Scholarly Pursuit and Thesis (SPT) research project before graduation, which allows students to cultivate projects they are passionate about, according to Angel Sheu, MS-2, at Burnett School of Medicine at TCU.

“I think it’s one of the greatest things about this curriculum because we get to have an impact right away,” Sheu said.

Supporting medical research that students are passionate about can lead to great discoveries, said Michael Bernas, M.S., Director of the SPT program.

“If the students choose a project that they’re passionate about and really want to do, that’s going to be with them all four years and possibly beyond school,” Bernas said.

There are a few requirements for their research. The project must have a researchable question, and they must develop methods to investigate the research question. This allows students to focus on the key details of their project.

Bernas said at the beginning of each project, students are asked “What are your potential results? What do you hope to find and more importantly, what do you think that would mean?”

As first-year medical students, the goal is to push them to explore their curiosity.

Sheu had her curiosity piqued a few weeks into medical school when she met Callie Crow, a retired paramedic and founder of the nonprofit Drews27Chains, during a training session about how to use Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, to reverse an opioid overdose. The session was part of the Service-Learning and Community Engagement curriculum at the Burnett School of Medicine.

Prior to starting medical school, Sheu worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and then became a paramedic. As a first responder, she treated hundreds of patients for opioid overdoses in Denver, her hometown, and Philadelphia.

“In the ambulance, we have 10 minutes with patients but how could I make an impact on a greater level?” Sheu said. “And also, how can I help my peers, so they are more familiar and more comfortable with treating different types of patients?”

Drews27Chains offers Narcan training and free doses of the lifesaving medication to first responders, schools, and community centers in Texas and beyond. Since 2020, the organization has been credited with giving out more than 10,000 doses of Narcan and saving 74 lives.

However, collecting data about the lives saved using their Narcan doses has been challenging. Sheu decided to collaborate with the nonprofit for her SPT research project with a novel idea to install QR codes on each box of Narcan they distribute.

That was the biggest area where she could provide help, according to Sheu.

“I just wanted to be able to help Callie so that we could get better numbers,” Sheu said.

Ric Bonnell, M.D., assistant professor at Burnett School of Medicine and board member of Drews27Chains, is working with Sheu as her SPT research mentor. The idea to use QR codes and a quick questionnaire on your smartphone came out of a brainstorming session between Callie, Sheu and Dr. Bonnell.

“She came to us and said I need a way to collect data,” Dr. Bonnell said. “We hit on QR codes as the easiest for the first responder to just do and send. Then put the incentive in there if you click on that QR code and say what happened we’ll send you two more free doses.”

The process Sheu is experiencing with Dr. Bonnell is common on how research studies come together, Bernas added.

“Some of the students have an idea, but Angel had some training and had a background in that area,” Bernas said.

The student and their mentor explore a range of questions throughout the four-year process. They could ask questions like how many patients do we need? What kind of subjects will we explore? How do we know what we’re investigating is the right issue to address? The students are expected to do background research to support the hypothesis they’ve chosen, Bernas said.

“They are looking at papers, they are looking at previous research and they are talking to different people in the community,” Bernas said. “Those projects are such a collaboration between the student and the mentor.”

Once the research projects are completed, students will present their research posters and findings at the Esch Family SPT Research Summit before graduating from the Burnett School of Medicine. Being able to follow a topic so closely for four years is important, Sheu added.

“Ultimately, it will make us a better physician,” Sheu said.