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Student Involvement

How to Join

RRNET offers research electives for UT Health San Antonio medical students which allow student’s to gather data in RRNET primary care outpatient settings, and adding to a large multi-site database. After the elective, there are several opportunities for analyzing data and presenting research findings at national conferences (see students’ work, below). To participate, medical students must be in good academic standing, and they must complete online research ethics training.

For more information, contact:

In RRNet, medical students have opportunities to work with research investigators and physician mentors to fully engage the research process from data collection phases to the dissemination of research results. The type of research training that students will receive is simply unmatched given trainer expertise, structured content and application of skills. The culmination of the program centers on the development of a research poster and presentation of results at a conference.

All RRNeT students will be required to complete training for protection of human subjects.
UTHSCSA requires training from CITI.

Contact us for guidance in selecting the appropriate curriculum from CITI
Research Ethics Education Policy and Procedure

RRNeT Student Accolades

Student Honors and Awards

  • 2015 – First Place Research Award for student poster presented by Daniela Ortiz, Sunand Kallumadanda, Sandra Burge from the Texas Academy of Family Physicians for “The association between time-motion and complexity of family visits: an RRNeT study.”
  • 2015 – Second Place Research Award for student poster presented by Nicholas Inman, Sarah Holder, Sandra Burge, Richard Young from the Texas Academy of Family Physicians fpr “Effects of patient and physician gender on family medicine outpatient encounters: an RRNeT study.”
  • 2013 – Oral Presentation Award  to David Cadena (honor given to 2 of 25 medical student poster submissions), “Correlations between Locus of Control and Opportunities for Health Behaviors.” Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, March 2013.
  • 2012: Presidential Poster Award, to Anna Haring, “Should We Change The Way We Communicate? A Study on the Availability of Electronic Communication in Older Adult Primary Care Patients” American Geriatric Society, Seattle, May 2012.
  • 2011 –  First Place Award for medical student research to Lauren Lyons, Terrell Benold, Sandra Burge. “Low Back Pain Remedies and Procedures: Helpful or Harmful?” Texas Academy of Family Physicians: Dallas TX, July 2011
  • 2010 –  Award of Merit Jennifer Lai CTAHR MS Student Oral Presentation Jennifer Lai, Todd Thames MD, Sandra Burge PhD. “Common Medical Diagnoses Associated with Chronic Low Back Pain.” (RRNET Study). Vancouver BC, April 2010
  • 2010 –  First Place Poster Award Shannon Essler, Sandra Burge, Terrell Benold. “Characteristics of Patients Using Extreme Opioid Dosages in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain.” Texas Academy of Family Physicians: San Antonio, Texas July, 2010.
  • 2010 –  Second Place Poster Award Kathryn Schmidt, Gerald Kizerian, Sandra Burge. “Medication Use for Chronic Low Back Pain.” Texas Academy of Family Physicians: San Antonio, Texas July, 2010.

Published Student Abstracts

  • Carlos P Cardenas, Sandra Burge, Gerald Kizerian.  Musculoskeletal Manifestations in Primary Care.  Family Medicine 2013; Vol 45 (Suppl 2).
  • Ebele Achebe.  Reading the Labels: Effects of Health Literacy and Language on Physical Activity and BMI.  Family Medicine 2013; Vol 45 (Suppl 2).
  • Lauren Lyons, Terrell Benold, Sandra Burge.  Low Back pain Remedies and Procedures: Helpful or Harmful?  Family Medicine 2012; Vol 44 (Suppl 4).
  • Adele Safo, Sandra Burge.  Socioeconomic and Ethnic Disparities in Low Back Pain and Physical Function.  Family Medicine 2012; Vol 44 (Suppl 4).
  • Ryan Horton, Swati Avashia, Jason Hill, Sandra Burge.  Diabetes and Associated Diseases in Primary Care: Regional Differences in Texas.  Family Medicine 2012; Vol 44 (Suppl 1).
  • Adele Safo, Sandra Burge.  Socioeconomic and Ethnic Disparities in Low Back Pain and Physical Function.  Family Medicine 2012; Vol 44 (Suppl 1).
  • Lauren Lyons, Terrell Benold, Sandra Burge.  Low Back pain Remedies and Procedures: Helpful or Harmful?  Family Medicine 2012; Vol 44 (Suppl 1).
  • Margaret Cecere, Richard Young, Sandra Burge.  From Bad to Worse: Comorbidities and Chronic Lower Back Pain.Family Medicine 2012; Vol 44 (Suppl 1).
  • Joshua N Splinter, B.S.; Tamara Armstrong, PsyD; Sandra K. Burge, PhD Daily Impact of Opioid Medications on Users With Chronic Low Back Pain. Family Medicine 2011; Vol 43 (Suppl 4).
  • Jennifer A Lai; Sandra Burge, PhD; Todd Thames, MD. Common Medical Diagnoses Associated With Chronic Low Back Pain. Family Medicine 2011; Vol 43 (Suppl 1).
  • Jennifer A Lai; Todd A. Thames, MD; Sandra K. Burge, PhD. Common Medical Diagnoses Associated With Chronic Low Back Pain.Family Medicine 2010; Vol 42 (Suppl 4).

Student Presentations

  • Caroline Stephens, Ronya Green, Tanner Campbell, Sandra Burge, Richard Young. Muskuloskeletal Pain in Family Medicine: Prevalence and Complexity. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference, Austin, TX, February 2018.
  • Sara Lalani and Sandra Burge. Patient Social Circumstances and Complexity of Family Medicine Visits. North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. November 2017.
  • Mahsa Madani, Sandra K. Burge, and The Residency Research Network of Texas. Factors Influencing PCPs’ Selection of Specialists for Referral: An RRNeT Study. Dallas, Texas. November 2016.
  • Clayton Bishop, Gerald Kizerian, Sandra Burge, Richard Young. Choice of hypertension medications in family medicine settings: An RRNeT study. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, May 2016
  • Nicholas Inman, Sarah Holder, Sandra Burge. Richard Young. Effects of patient and physician gender on family medicine outpatient encounters: An RRNeT Study. TAFP Primary Care Summit, The Woodlands, TX, Nov 2015. * Second-place award for research
  • Daniela Ortiz, Sunand Kallumadanda, Sandra Burge, Richard Young. The Association Between Time-Motion and Complexity of Family Medicine Visits: An RRNeT Study. North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Conference, Cancun QR, Mexico, October 2015. Also presented at TAFP Primary Care Summit, The Woodlands, TX, Nov. 2015 *First-place award for research
  • Jade Law Jr., Nina Torkelson, Sandra Burge, Richard Young. Do Competing Demands Affect How Often Family Physicians Address Quality Indicators of Diabetes Care? North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Conference, Cancun QR, Mexico, October 2015. Also presented at TAFP Primary Care Summit, The Woodlands, TX Nov 2015
  • Donia Friday; Tamara Armstrong; Sandra K. Burge; Nina Torkelson. How does health literacy affect patient activation and subjective health status? Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, April 2015.
  • Florisa Lubrin, Sandra K. Burge, Matiana Gonzalez-Wright. Clinical outcomes and patient-physician discordance in understanding and management of health. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, April 2015.
  • Rex Harmansen, Sandra K. Burge, Gerald D. Kizerian. What motivates patients to believe self-care of their disease is important? Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, April 2015.
  • Donia Friday; Tamara Armstrong; Sandra K. Burge; Nina Torkelson. How does health literacy affect patient activation and subjective health status? North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Conferenec, New York, NY, November 2014.
  • David Wilson, Sandra Burge. Association of Opioid Use with Functional Status in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Meeting, Baltimore MD, May 2013.
  • Ebele Achebe. Reading the Labels: Effects of Health Literacy and Language on Physical Activity and BMI. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Meeting, Baltimore MD, May 2013.
  • David Cadena, Sandra Burge, Inez Cruz, KA Kumar, Robert Ferrer. Correlations between Locus of Control and Opportunities for Healthy Behaviors. Frontiers of Translational  Science Research Day, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, March 2013.
  • Jeremy Gue, Sandra Burge, Inez Cruz, Robert Ferrer. Opportunities for Health Behaviors: Do They Get Better with Age? Frontiers of Translational  Science Research Day, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, March 2013.
  • Kara Karlak, Sandra Burge, Richard Young. Health Capabilities Predict Lower BMI and More Physical Activity. Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, March 2013.
  • David Wilson, Sandra Burge. Association of Opioid Use with Functional Status in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients. Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, March 2013.
  • Carlos P Cardenas, Sandra Burge, Gerald Kizerian. Musculoskeletal Manifestations in Primary Care. North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, December 2012.
  • Ebele Achebe. Reading the Labels: Effects of Health Literacy and Language on Physcial Activity and BMI. North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, December 2012.
  • Hill J, Burge SK, Haring A. Patient Electronic Communication: Capabilities and Preferences for Sending and Receiving Health Information. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Seattle WA. April 2012.
  • Lyons L, Benold T, Burge SK. Low Back Pain Remedies and Procedures: Helpful or Harmful? Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Seattle WA. April 2012.
  • Safo A, Burge SK Socioeconomic and Ethnic Disparities in Low Back Pain and Physical Function. Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Seattle WA. April 2012.
  • Haring, A. Armstrong, T. Burge SK, Hill, JH. “Should We Change The Way We Communicate? A Study on the Availability of Electronic Communication in Older Adult Primary Care Patients” American Geriatric Society, Seattle, May 2012. Seattle WA. May 2012. Award-winner.
  • Ryan Horton, Swati Avashia, Jason Hill, Sandra Burge. “Diabetes and Associated Diseases in Primary Care: Regional Differences in Texas”; Annual Conference, NAPCRG, Banff, Alberta, Canada,  November 2011.
  • Adel Safo, Sarah Holder, Sandra Burge. “Low back pain and physical function among different ethnicities.” Annual Conference, NAPCRG, Banff, Alberta, Canada,  November 2011.
  • Lauren Lyons, Terrell Benold, Sandra Burge. “Low back pain remedies and procedures: Helpful or harmful; Annual Conference, NAPCRG, Banff, Alberta, Canada,  November 2011
  • Margaret Cecere, Richard Young, Sandra Burge. “From bad to worse: Comorbidities and Chronic Lower Back Pain.” Annual Conference, NAPCRG, Banff, Alberta, Canada,  November 2011.
  • Lauren Lyons, Terrell Benold, Sandra Burge. “Low Back Pain Remedies and Procedures: Helpful or Harmful?” Poster presentation at the Annual Conference of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Dallas TX, July 2011.
  • Joshua N Splinter, B.S.; Tamara Armstrong, PsyD; Sandra K. Burge, PhD. Daily Impact of Opioid Medications on Users With Chronic Low Back Pain. Student poster presented at the Annual Conference of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, New Orleans, April 2011.
  • Jennifer A Lai; Sandra Burge, PhD; Todd Thames, MD. Common Medical Diagnoses Associated With Chronic Low Back Pain. Student poster presented at the Annual Conference of the North American Primary Care Research Group, Seattle, November 2010.
  • Safo A, Holder S, Burge S. Low Back Pain and Physical Functioning Among Different Ethnicities. Poster presented at Great Minds in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Annual Conference, Lake Buena Vista FL, October 2010.
  • Shannon Essler, Sandra Burge, Terrell Benold.”Characteristics of Patients Using Extreme Opioid Dosages in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain.” AAFP, Denver, Sept 2010.
  • Lai, Jennifer*, Burge, SK. Thames, Todd. “Untreated Depression and One-Year Changes in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Boston, MA. April-May 2010.
  • Kathryn Schmidt, Gerald Kizerian, Sandra Burge. “Medication Use for Chronic Low Back Pain.” Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day, San Antonio TX, March 25, 2010. Also at TAFP, July 2010.
  • Shannon Essler, Sandra Burge, Terrell Benold. “Characteristics of Patients Using Extreme Opioid Dosages in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain.” Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day, San Antonio TX, March 25, 2010.
  • Shannon Essler, Sandra Burge, Terrell Benold. “Characteristics of Patients Using Extreme Opioid Dosages in the Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain.” STFM, Vancouver BC, April 2010.

Student Posters

2012 Student Posters
2011 Student Posters
2010 Student Posters