Scholarship for community physicians.

Traditionally, family doctors who had an interest in academic scholarship had no choice but to work at academic teaching centres, where teaching went hand in hand with the scholarly aspects of an academic appointment. However, in the past several years medical education has expanded beyond the boundaries of the academic teaching centres into the surrounding communities. New community-based faculty members have been recruited, opening up exciting opportunities for their involvement in academic scholarship. However, when new faculty members consider what it means to become “scholars,” they often feel intimidated by the path they imagine this to be. Although I can understand the apprehension (being a community doctor myself), I want to explore the notion that academic scholarship encompasses much more than the stereotypical role of being a principal investigator on a project funded by a large grant that yields multiple publications in highimpact-factor journals.