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HONORS SELF- DESIGNED PROPOSAL

Complete this proposal prior to your experiences start date and upload it in the UHP Database
(https://webapps.uc.edu/uchonorsstudent). Create an experience (Add a new record) in the Tracking Project
tab and upload your proposal document as an attachment. The deadline for submitting proposals is the 5th of
each month (excluding July).
Proposals are intended to be well developed plans for your experience. However, experiences are exploratory in
nature, and we are flexible with changes throughout the experience. If your experience changes after receiving
approval on your proposal, contact your honors advisor to verify the changes still satisfy the requirements of an
honors experience.

Basic Information
Full Name: Rohan Srivastava
Title of Project: Medical Ethics Discussion Club
Thematic Area(s): Leadership, Global Studies, Creativity
Expected Start Date: January 10, 2015
Expected End Date: September 8, 2015 (the start week of the club)

GUIDELINES
1. Proposal submission timeline: Proposals should be submitted at least one month prior to the expected
start date of the experience. International experiences require at least two months notice. Contact your
honors advisor immediately for any exceptions.
2. Proposal length: While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4
pages single-spaced.
3. Proposal format: Please maintain the proposal format (e.g. headers, layout)
4. Time commitment: Experiences should consist of at least 75-90 hours of preparation, execution, and
reflection. This is approximately equivalent to the commitment of honors seminars and pre-approved
experiences.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

All self-designed international travel experiences require two months notice and must be at least one week in
length. You will need to provide a detailed itinerary (dates, locations and activities). If participating in
independent travel (not with UC faculty, staff or student group), you must also fill out a Worldwide: Honors
Experience application via UC International.
Additionally, the Student Travel Policy restricts UC-sponsored travel to countries under a U.S. Department of
State Travel Warning. Those who wish to visit a country with a travel warning must seek an exemption through
UC International. Students traveling without a faculty or staff leader must individually request an exemption.
We cannot allow you to count this travel as an honors experience nor can we give you a grant without an
approved exemption.

1. Abstract
I hope to become a physician, and one of the most important aspects of medicine is ethics. During my first year at the
University of Cincinnati, I have taken a great interest in discussions pertaining to ethics of medicine. I have come to
understand that there is no right answer in regards to ethics. I do feel, however, that if students are exposed to many
scenarios of ethical dilemmas they apply their own logic, feelings, and viewpoints to them, they will become better
prepared if these incidents should arise in their careers as physicians. This club is not solely restricted to students who
aspire to be doctors. Developing ones own set of ethical opinions is dependent on experience, so I am hoping that this
club provides a perspective to difficult situations that does not necessarily have a right answer.
I am hoping that the Medical Ethics Discussion (M.E.D.) Club continues beyond the years of this self-design. The
following timeline provides information as to how the organization will be developed:
January February: Work with Dr. Selzer to create a timeline of the M.E.D. club for one academic year. Also, come up
with responsibilities for each officer position.
March April: Find interested charter members and choose students as Officers of the club. Make the pitch to the
University Funding Board once charter members are found. Create social media accounts once the organization is
approved by the UFB.
May July: Create visual media/graphic design works to put up around the UC campus in August and onto the social
media accounts.
August: Put up visual media/graphic design works. Start spreading the word about the M.E.D. Club. Be part of the
Student Organization event during Welcome Week.
September: Have first meeting!
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

Brief description of the experience

Personal connection to the experience
Identified goals for the experience
Timeline from start to finish
*Itinerary (international experiences only)
**Explanation of differentiated experience
from what is required of other students

2. Experience Advisor
Experience Advsior: Dr. Robin Selzer
Email: arnsperi@mail.uc.edu
I choose Dr. Robin Selzer as my experience advisor because her class, Exploring Health Professions, introduced me into
intense discussions of ethics in medicine. Mainly, I hope to bounce ideas off of Dr. Selzer. I know that she will be a
helping hand throughout the process of developing the club as she has access to many resources/activities that can enrich
the experience of the club.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
Experience advisor name and contact
information

Required Revisions:

Effective:

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Description of why advisor was selected
Specific plans to engage with advisor

3. Connection to Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcome 1: Leadership Formulate and manage a shared vision and develop goals towards its achievement.
The fact that I will be turning my idea of the M.E.D. Club into a reality fulfills this learning outcome. If I am able to find
the 10 charter members who are required to officiate an organization, then I will have achieved a goal that is shared by
others. As a leader, I am not solely responsible for leading people, but I am also expected to develop other leaders as well.
Thus, I will need to find interested people who would like to be part of the executive board. I expect this process to take
about one month to complete, as I may conduct interviews with Dr. Selzer for these positions. The time will likely be
between March and April, so I will have help over the summer to finalize the details of the club. The entire development
process will be required to fulfill this learning outcome, so this learning outcome will be fulfilled in approximately eight
months.
Learning Outcome 2: Global Studies Demonstrate a sense of empathy, respect, and appreciation for others to build
meaningful cross-cultural collaborations toward mutual growth and prosperity.
An important aspect of ethics is being aware of and sensitive to other cultures. What is ethical is extremely different from
one culture to another, and so I feel that it is necessary to discuss these cultural differences. Through personal experience,
I feel that becoming aware of a cultures history and beliefs leads to both understanding and appreciation of that culture. I
hope to integrate ethical conflicts involving cultural differences at least once every month of meetings. I plan for meetings
to be once a week.
Learning Outcome 3: Creativity Explore a new creative competency/medium or seek new ways to
engage an existing competency/medium.
I do not have much experience with graphic design, but it is an area of interest to me. Through this self-design, I want to
use the Adobe design apps to help create flyers, newsletters, and graphic designs that will connect the UC community with
the members of the M.E.D. club. Before the first meeting of the club, I want to design an aesthetically intriguing flyer to
put up around the UC main campus and impressive graphic designs to post to the social media accounts. I believe that
specific project will take me about a month. However, throughout the academic year, the club will use the Adobe software
to make future flyers and social media posts.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

3 learning outcomes explicitly identified

from any thematic area(s)
Examples of activities and explanation of
how each will assist the progress towards
the chosen learning outcome
Estimated time commitment for each
activity

4. Academic Resources Connected to the Learning Outcomes

One resource I will use is Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. This book focuses on an ethical
dilemma that involves cultural barriers. The book describes the ordeal and the different viewpoints of those affected by the
ethical/cultural dilemma.
Another resource I will use is the Medical Ethics class that is taught at the Blue Ash campus. I intend to speak to the
professor, Ornaith ODowd, as to how she teachers her class and what book(s) she uses to teach the course. I hope to take

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topics of her class and include them into the topics that will be discussed in the M.E.D. Club. Since there is no Medical
Ethics course available on the main campus, I wanted the M.E.D. Club to selectively imitate that course.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

1-2 academic resources connected to the

learning outcomes
Title and author of each resource
Description of how resources will help
make progress towards learning outcomes
and execution of experience

5. On-going Reflection
I will likely use a journal to record my reflection. I will write down the pros and cons that come up as I develop the club.
Some pros I foresee are specific topics which students enjoy discussing and activities necessary to include. Some cons I
see are topics that students do not enjoy discussing and obstacles faced during the development of the club. This journal
will be important to the development of the M.E.D. club as it will provide a basis as to which future members can use to
refine the club.
I also hope to provide a monthly evaluation to M.E.D. members, so I can get feedback as to what is working and what is
not. As a first year club, there will be plenty of room for refinement.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:

Required Revisions:

Effective:

Method for ongoing reflection

Reflection questions/topics clearly
specified

6. Sharing Your Learning

One of my learning outcomes focused on creativity, and I will use my creativity to share my learning. Using Adobe
software, I want to constantly spread important events of the M.E.D. club to students at the University of Cincinnati. I will
do so through flyers or newsletters and social media. I am hoping that these works can entice students of UC to come to a
M.E.D. meeting. Hopefully, they will join as well!
I will also create two social media accounts (Twitter and Instagram) that will be used to inform those who follow the
account. I also hope to create graphic designs focused on the club that will be posted to these social media platforms.
Advisor Feedback
Must Include:
At least one method to actively share takeaways/learning from the experience
A specific audience and why the audience
was selected

Required Revisions:

Effective:

7. Budget (if applicable)

Money will be needed for the Adobe software that will help with creating graphic design for the organization. The Adobe
creative set of apps is $20.00 per month, so $160.00 will be needed to supply myself with Adobe software for the
developmental months of the club (https://creative.adobe.com/plans?plan=edu). Adobe will continue to be the primary
platform for the clubs future graphic designs, so more necessary money will be needed. If the University Funding Board
cannot supply that money, an honors grant will be needed.
The remaining costs of the club should be covered by the University Funding Board, so no further budget is required
within this proposal.
Advisor Feedback
Notes:
Detailed budget of expenditures with
sources to justify budget estimates
*Indicates the number of hours per week
and number of weeks of participation

Required Revisions:

Effective:

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THEMATIC AREA LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcomes for the Community Engagement Thematic Area:
By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to

Identify and differentiate multiple ways to contribute towards the development or

achievement of the communitys goals.
Develop a thorough understanding of the world view, beliefs, experiences, selfconsciousness, or history of community members through collaboration.
Articulate the purpose of service on a social issue or public policy and how service
mutually enhances individual growth and the common good.
Explain how education, advocacy, mobilization, or public policy can influence social
issues and transform communities.

Learning Outcomes for the Creativity Thematic Area:

By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to

Discover new techniques to gain knowledge, consider options, make new connections,
and ask questions.
Explore a new creative competency/medium or seek new ways to engage an existing
competency/medium.
Understand and optimize the use of people, technology, physical resources or community
in a creative process.
Articulate the broader significance of a creative project and the value of its contributions.

Learning Outcomes for the Global Studies Thematic Area:

By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to

Develop practical travel skills that promote safe, stimulating, and productive travel
throughout your life.
Summarize the interconnectedness of geography, history, cultural traits and world issues.
Articulate the interdependence of professional fields to address current and impending
global issues such as technology, the environment, human rights, or politics.
Demonstrate an understanding of cultural diversity by acknowledging the impact of their
own identity and the experience of social norms, customs, or beliefs that are different
from their own.
Demonstrate a sense of empathy, respect, and appreciation for others to build meaningful
cross-cultural collaborations toward mutual growth and prosperity.

Learning Outcomes for the Leadership Thematic Area:

By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to

Formulate and manage a shared vision and develop goals towards its achievement.
Motivate and collaborate effectively with others towards completion of shared projects or
goals.
Develop strategies to identify and respond to challenges and obstacles.
Identify personal strengths and areas of growth and evaluate opportunities to maximize
skills and abilities.
Synthesize the current trends related to a specific issue or field and evaluate how
thought-leaders are currently addressing them.

Learning Outcomes for the Research Thematic Area:

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By engaging in this thematic area, you will make progress towards learning how to

Demonstrate the ability to locate, interpret, and critically evaluate primary sources
appropriate to field.
Identify and apply appropriate methods to collect and organize data for analysis.
Analyze and interpret the meaning of results.
Produce dissemination appropriate to the field in order to share the results or impact
of the research.
Articulate the broader significance of the research project and its relationship to other
fields, research and ideas.