Curricula Impact Post - residency Practice ?

Over the past 2 decades, there has been considerable debate about the value of research training during residency. Despite the difficulties in developing and administering these research training programs, two national surveys of program directors found that the vast majority of family medicine residency programs teach residents to read and understand the medical literature, many provide lectures on research methods, and some provide dedicated research time and research electives. Neale reported in 1997 that 49% of programs required residents to undertake research/scholarly projects. Both the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Family Medicine state that family medicine programs must provide opportunities for research (including experience in principles of research design, performance, and analysis) and encourage research participation. In fact, research may soon be required prior to graduation. It is unclear, however, what the outcomes are of these research curricula. For example, Hebert et al, in a systematic review of resident research curricula, identified 41 articles describing research curricula for training house officers. She reported that evaluations of these curricula were rudimentary, with most limited to learners’ self-assessment. However, some of these studies have shown knowledge gains immediately after completion of research curricula, and one study found that residents’ perceptions of these overall academic preparations were associated with their interest in pursuing an academic career, but no studies have evaluated postgraduate long-term knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors that might be attributed to these research curricula. Conversely, there is ample evidence that these programs are difficult to develop and administer and that faculty and residents complain about lack of time and mentoring. Prior to making resident research a requirement in family medicine programs, therefore, the effectiveness of such curricula on postgraduate outcomes should be assessed. Research in Residency: Do Research Curricula Impact Post-residency Practice?