Scholarly Projects

Jun 19

About

Each Emergency Medicine resident is expected by ABEM to complete a Scholarly Project before graduation. The goals of scholarly project are:
1) Exposure to the nature of scholarly inquiry
2) Foster initial development of niche/area of expertise

For participation in a particular project to qualify, the resident must have a defined role. This can include developing the original idea, the study design (if applicable), manuscript preparation and/or presentation at a national meeting. Data collection alone is not sufficient. A measurement/research component is expected for most scholarly projects. The Scholarly Project must call on academic skills and be brought to a satisfactory level of completion.

During the first half of the PGY1 year, residents are encouraged to think critically about their patient encounters and experiences (developing clinical questions, when appropriate), their academic interests, and their personal interests. These experiences and interests should inform a resident’s Scholarly Project. By January of the PGY1 year, residents may have a sense of what particular clinical or extra-clinical “niche(s)” they find interesting. These may be clinically-related (e.g., therapeutic hypothermia post-cardiac arrest, MRSA infection in the ED) or extra-clinical (e.g., international emergency medicine, use of simulation in resident education), and they may be focused narrowly or broadly (e.g. “use of ultrasound in obtaining intravenous access”, versus simply “ultrasound”).

Having a faculty mentor/collaborator is an important component of a successful Scholarly Project. Residents should choose a faculty member whom they work well and share common academic interests. Residents are not obligated to complete their project with their faculty mentor/collaborator, but rather this relationship is intended to foster academic discourse, and to identify one specific faculty member for each resident that may be turned to for advice and assistance in navigating the process of taking an idea and following it through to a completed project. Residents should meet with potential faculty mentors/collaborators as they develop their area of interest.