Research

As is expected of all residents in ACGME-accredited Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency Programs, our residents must complete a required scholarly project.  Most residents complete this requirement by self-initiating and/or participating in an existing research project with faculty mentorship and biostatistical/analytic support.  These projects are mentored by faculty members with appropriate subject matter expertise and guided by our research curriculum which includes the following:

PGY1-4:

• Protected educational sessions regarding research fundamentals including study design and basic statistics scheduled during CORE sessions and some in conjunction with faculty POWERS hours
• Journal Clubs with articles derived from most current green & gray journals - discussions guided by faculty to assist in application of study design methodologies, pros/cons of certain approaches, subtleties of statistical analyses, recognition of biases and limitations, clinical practice application and quality/safety initiative discussions to assure our practices are aligned with national standards
• Regular meetings with mentor, research division director, analyst and/or study coordinator(s) regarding project progress and needs
• Attendance at ‘office hours’ with Kathy Leung (biostatistician)

 PGY1:

• Completion of a Human Subjects Exam (‘CITI’ Test) valid for three years

 PGY2:

• Commitment to project and mentor in the summer/early fall
• Written project draft, timeline, and PowerPoint presentation to peers and faculty for feedback prior to study start in the fall
• Application for departmental funding if needed in the fall
• Meeting with departmental biostatistician regarding database generation and/or anticipated analytic needs (fall)
• Submission of IRB in the fall/early winter (at the latest)

 PGY3:

• Updated project write-up, timeline, and PowerPoint presentation to peers and faculty for feedback regarding study progression and unanticipated issues in the fall
• Meetings with departmental biostatistician regarding data cleaning, planned results, shelling of tables and general analytic needs (regular meetings)
• Abstract submission and PowerPoint presentation creation for presentation at Resident Research Day in the spring
• Oral presentation at Resident Research Day to peers, colleagues, supervisory faculty and honored guest speaker

PGY4:

• Renewal of a Human Subjects Exam (‘CITI’ Test)
• Submission of project abstract for conference consideration
• Submission of full manuscript (green journal style unless another journal is more appropriate)
• Consideration if project could/should alter patient care and assistance in implementation of such change