Forum on research and scholarly activity.

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 Program 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.