Forum on Research and Scholarly Activity

Resident Issues

CJEM 2000;2(4):265-266

"Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different."

Albert Szent-Gyorgi

Emergency medicine training programs often require residents to participate in research activity. One goal of the Resident Forum was to discuss ways of improving this element of our training. We asked ourselves the following questions.

What are the objectives for a graduating resident?
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada's Standard for the Academic and Scholarly Aspects of the Residency Program¹ states: "There must be a faculty member with the responsibility to facilitate the involvement of residents in research and other scholarly work. The academic program must provide the opportunity for residents to learn biostatistics and the critical appraisal of research methodology and medical literature. Such teaching must include issues related to age, gender, culture and ethnicity in research protocols and data presentation and discussion. Residents should be encouraged to participate in clinical research during the course of the residency program."

However, all of the Canadian programs differ in their interpretation of these standards.

Should research be a mandatory activity?
Resident Forum participants felt that mandatory scholarly activity was a useful educational endeavour. The group agreed with the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Research Directors' Workshop, which emphasized that the focus should be on the process, not the product.

Is "research" the only form of scholarly activity? Residents sought to broaden the accepted definition of scholarly activity to include original research (basic science and clinical), curriculum development, administrative projects, community health initiatives, completion of graduate-level courses, subspecialty or fellowship development (e.g., aeromedical transport, prehospital care), utilization of new technologies (Web site development, handheld computer applications).

Although few conclusions were reached at the resident forum, strong themes emerged. Residents are curious about their specialty and eager to engage in scholarly activity. We will flourish with direction, strong mentorship and access to the necessary academic resources. Given the common questions we face in emergency medicine across Canada, increased collaboration among residents from different programs and specialties ought to be nurtured.

Reference

1. RCPSC (Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada) General Standards of Accreditation. Sept 1997. p. 12.
2. Summers RL, Fish S, Blanda M, Terndrup T. Assessment of the "Scholarly Project" requirement for emergency medicine residents: report of the SAEM Research Directors' Workshop. Acad Emerg Med 1999;6:1160-5.