Pediatric Research and Scholarship Committee: Single Institution Initiative to Enhance Scholarly Activity of Pediatric Residents

Abstract

Objective: We sought to improve scholarly activity of pediatric residents by providing residents with support and guidance from a committee of faculty and staff members dedicated to advancing research within the program while requiring minimal additional funding or resources.

Approach: Established in 2012, the Pediatric Research and Scholarship Committee (PRSC) ascertained research interests of pediatric residents and matched residents with scholarly activity mentors based on mutual interests and goals. We measured change in scholarly activity of residents after the development of the PRSC by reviewing resident presentations at national/regional meetings and manuscripts published pre- and post-PRSC.

Outcomes: The average number of conference presentations at regional/national meetings per resident ratio increased from 0.13 over the 2 years prior to the PRSC to an average of 0.34 over the 2 years post-PRSC, with the overall increase sustained over the seven years post-PRSC (0.13 pre-PRSC vs 0.48 post-PRSC, P < .01). In addition, published peer-reviewed manuscripts with resident primary authorship increased after the initiation of the PRSC from 0 publications over the 2 years pre-PRSC to a total of 25 publications over the 7 years post-PRSC (P = .01). An average of 27% of graduating residents with limited PRSC exposure (2 graduating classes) had presented at a regional/national conference during residency, as compared to 50% of graduating residents over the first 2 years of full PRSC exposure, and 59% of all graduating residents with full exposure to the PRSC over the last 5 years (P = .03).

Discussion: Implementation of a research committee comprised of dedicated faculty can play a vital role in stimulating and sustaining productivity in resident research and scholarly activity. Our model can be adopted by other residency programs seeking to advance resident scholarly activities.

Keywords: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; research; scholarly activity.