Implementation and evaluation of a novel research education rotation for Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons emergency medicine residents

Abstract

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPS) emergency medicine (EM) residents must complete a scholarly project; however, significant variation exists in Canadian EM resident research education and facilitation. We developed and implemented a novel mandatory research education rotation for RCPS EM residents intended to increase knowledge, faculty/resident collaborations, and, ultimately, scholarly output. This 4-week rotation took place in the fall of 2011 and consisted of 37 faculty-led didactic, critical appraisal, and workshop seminars. Exposure to faculty research and resulting opportunities and the development of resident research projects were integrated into the rotation. Twelve participating residents completed daily evaluations and took part in an exit focus group analyzed using a constant comparative method. Knowledge acquisition was assessed with a pre/post comprehensive examination instrument evaluated by a paired t-test. Evaluations indicated generally high satisfaction throughout the rotation. Focus group analysis indicated that residents felt two important but competing goals existed: developing a research project and developing critical appraisal skills. The research knowledge of all participants improved significantly (mean/SD examination change +35.4%/+10.4%, range +20.0% to +53.6%, p , 0.001), and several new resident/faculty research collaborations arose from the rotation. A rotation of this nature is an efficient and effective means to increase research and critical appraisal knowledge and faculty/resident collaborations. As a result of our positive experience, the rotation will continue annually and has been expanded to include pediatric EM fellows. Longitudinal tracking of the participating trainee cohort will remain ongoing to assess the scholarly output impact of the rotation.

CAEP 2014 Academic Symposium: “How to make research succeed in your department: Promoting excellence in Canadian emergency medicine resident research”

“…7 One example of explicit training for resident research was a mixedmethods study describing a unique 1-month mandatory rotation for junior RCPSC-EM residents, called the NERD block (Novel Education in Research and Design). 8 Our survey highlighted marked diversity in residency programs' self-report expectations, training, evaluation, infrastructure, and dissemination, not just between RCPSC-EM and CFPC-EM programs but also among them. The expected degree of project completeness also varied across programs.…”

Relationship between category size and journals’ impact factor

“…Thus, initiatives should be addressed to improve research skills in emergency physicians, such as involving residents in research projects developed in the ED [26][27][28]. The inclusion of a mandatory research education rotation into resident programs including critical appraisal, workshop seminars, and integration into the faculty research projects would lead to an increase in scholarly output.…”

Critical Appraisal of Emergency Medicine Education Research: The Best Publications of 2013

“…The primary objective was to was to evaluate a new curriculum in 16 (37%) articles. 10,15,16,21,24,29,30,33,36,38,39,42,46,47,49,50 Learner competence continued to be a prominent research topic, which was studied in 14 (33%) articles. 13,14,17,18,22,23,25,27,32,35,[43][44][45]50 Pediatric topics continued to be studied at about the same rate as in 2012, with seven (16%) articles.…”

“…10,16,22,23,25,37,44 Fourteen studies (33%) employed rigorous experimental or quasi-experimental methodologies, 10,12,15,18,21,24,30,31,34,36,38,41,47,48 including five (71%) of the featured articles. 10,21,30,34,36 Outcome measures in all studies reviewed ranged from learner satisfaction (Kirkpatrick level I) to improved performance (Kirkpatrick level 3). 54 Although the outcome measures for the highest Kirkpatrick level (level 4) are difficult to study and focus on tangible patient outcome results after training, they are what education research studies should build toward.…”

“…Fourteen (32.5%) studies were funded. 10,12,15,19,[21][22][23]30,33,34,[36][37][38]44 Funding sources included federal grants, 12,21 institutional or specialty organization support, 10,22,23,33,34,36,44 foundations, 15,19,30 and industry. 37,38 Funded studies are prominent in the articles highlighted for superior methodology (86%).…”