Rotation: Research Elective
Site:
- Department of Internal Medicine and Amarillo VA Healthcare System
Instructors:
- Stephen Wright, M.D. (Research Elective Coordinator). Research Mentors will be any one of the Internal Medicine/VA faculty (Drs. Cutts, Gopalachar, Jenkins, Khandheria, Leeper, Richey, Stenhouse, Urban, Weis, Werner, Wilson, Wright, Yalamanchili)
Makeup of team (responsibility of each team member):
The Residency Program Director will schedule a career counseling session with each interested resident in the beginning of the first year of resident training to assign a mentor. A customized research plan for each interested resident will be developed by a committee comprising of the Research Mentor, the Research Elective Coordinator, Chief of VA Medical Services and the Residency Program Director/Associate Director. This will include the following:
- Introduction and explanation of the background for the research
- Degree of participation by the resident in the design of the study
- Background, experience, and degree of participation of the Resident and the Research Mentor
- Research hypothesis
- Specific methods
- Daily schedule of activity for the Resident during the elective period
- Laboratory site at which the research will be performed
Days per week (night call):
- Participation in the elective will require a minimum of 30 hours per week performing research during the elective period. Residents must also attend conferences during the research block (in addition to the 30 hours minimum of research time).
- Usual time of attending rounds (meeting place):
- To be arranged by the Research mentor.
Types of patients encountered:
This will depend on the type of study. For example, a laboratory-based research will require almost no interaction with patients; rather the resident will work with laboratory personnel. However, a clinical study may require the resident to obtain information (e.g., surveys, questionnaires etc.) and samples (e.g., serum and stool etc.) from patients.
Educational goals/competencies:
Patient Care
The residents will have the opportunity to get involved with on-going research projects (both clinical and basic science) and start a new research project or collaborate in on-going projects. The resident will be expected to prepare and present their own research findings in both oral and written formats. Presentations at scientific meetings will be strongly encouraged.
There is a broad range of research interests at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, for example, the clinical and biological aspects of osteoporosis; diabetes; immunotherapy of cancer; as well as projects in preventive geriatrics, epidemiology, health services research, new forms of health care delivery, Woman's Health research and ethical issues.
In this one month elective, training will also be provided through seminars/workshops in study design, measurements, and quantitative methods so that the clinician scholar will know the theoretical basis for successfully conducting research. The resident will participate actively in journal clubs to discuss the research design and scientific relevance of published reports.
Patient: NA
Medical Knowledge:
The discipline and evaluative skills gained by personal involvement in research form the basis for the implementation of new ideas and techniques in medicine. Perhaps more than any other profession, physicians must adopt the principle of life-long learning. Only by continued dedication to the critical evaluation and adoption of new information will physicians be able to remain current as practitioners of state-of-the-art medical therapy. Specific skills such as information retrieval techniques, critical analysis, and data interpretation are therefore essential tools for life-long learning.
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement:
Residents who will choose laboratory-based research projects will learn how to interpret special laboratory tests, such as serological tests, fluorescent antibody tests and PCR etc.
Interpersonal and Communication Skills:
Residents during the research elective must be able to demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in effective information exchange and teaming with laboratory personnel and other professional associates.
Professionalism:
Residents must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities in the laboratory and adherence to ethical scientific principles. Residents should be on time, take their lab responsibilities seriously, report to their research mentor when they will be on call or in clinic, and display an active interest in learning about research techniques.
Systems-Based Practice:
Residents will learn how to interact with the Institutional Review Board, will learn about the numerous rules and regulations that effect both human and basic science research, and will gain insight into the peer review process.
Text/references to be consulted:
These will be assigned by the Research Mentor and will be directly related to the Resident's research project.
Methods of evaluation:
Trainees will be evaluated by the Research Mentor and the Research Elective Coordinator during the rotation. Verbal feedback will be given throughout the month and an ABIM Competency-Based Resident Evaluation form will be completed at the end of the month. The evaluation of "research competence" of the resident will be based on his/her work ethic, initiative, responsibility and independence in carrying out the research work in the laboratory.
Residents will be given feedback about their performance at the end of the rotation. Faculty is encouraged to discuss resident performance at some point in the middle of the rotation as well. Residents having difficulties with the rotation may require more frequent feedback sessions.
Residents, in turn, will evaluate the Research Mentor and the Research Elective Coordinator and program performance by providing comments. This information will be used to make changes to improve the experience for the resident and/or improve scholarly activity of the resident.