SummaryThis article reviews the literature on research as part of the career of a psychiatrist. Many of the reviewed articles emphasised an interest among psychiatry trainees for conducting psychiatric research. A number of reviewed articles discussed the aspects of research training experiences that lead to a career with a major research emphasis. A few articles described the percentage of time dedicated to research by academic psychiatrists. for those trainees completing their training and who plan to pursue a career as a clinician, there are still ways to incorporate research into clinical practice and continue to maintain some of the research skills that were learned as a psychiatry trainee.

This study investigated whether basic mathematics skills are associated with undergraduate psychology statistics course performance while simultaneously considering self-reported psychological/behavioral and demographic variables. Participants (n = 460) completed a Math Assessment for College Students (MACS), which included questions ranging from calculating percentages to graphical interpretation. The researchers used a discriminant correspondence analysis to reveal differences in course performance evaluated as the average of three exam grades. For the variation in the average exam scores accounted for by our model, the MACS scores provided the largest contribution. Other variables associated with better exam grades included white ethnicity, non-transfer status, lower year in school, and low procrastination. The researchers discuss the implications for helping instructors identify areas of basic mathematical deficiency and strength.

Objectives: Although reminder systems are used to increase provider adherence, we are not aware of any real-time reminder systems for provider adherence to postpartum glucose tolerance testing. We studied whether a reminder in the electronic medical records affects provider ordering of a postpartum glucose tolerance test. We also studied whether any demographic, medical history, prenatal, or delivery variables are associated with patient attendance to a postpartum visit and patient completion of the postpartum glucose tolerance test when ordered.Methods: This was a retrospective study of 246 women diagnosed as having gestational diabetes mellitus who completed prenatal care and delivered at a suburban public safety-net hospital.Results: Implementation of the real-time postpartum note reminder system significantly improved provider adherence to postpartum glucose screening recommendations from 58.1% to 75.0% ( P = 0.01). Delivery complications were significantly associated with increased odds for postpartum visit attendance (odds ratio [OR] 3.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.63-8.86, P < 0.01). Increased gestational age at first prenatal visit was significantly associated with decreased odds for postpartum visit attendance (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.87-0.99, P < 0.05). Speaking Spanish was associated with an increased odds for completion of the postpartum glucose tolerance test when ordered (OR 2.88, 95% CI 1.24-6.70, P = 0.01). Conclusions:We recommend that hospital managers include a reminder system in the electronic medical record. Providers should focus counseling on the potential future risks to the mother, in addition to encouraging continued adherence to postpartum care. Providers also should counsel those who present later to prenatal care about the importance of obtaining postpartum glucose tolerance tests.

No abstract