Promoting Scholarship at Regional Medical Campuses

Abstract

Multiple regional medical campuses (RMCs) have been established in North America as part of the effort to train physicians in locations geographically removed from the main medical school campus. RMCs may vary in size, geographic location and mission from the main campus, but scholarly activity by faculty and students is expected and should be promoted on all campuses. If the definition of scholarship is limited to research demonstrated by publication, and academic recognition and advancement is largely based on this criterion, faculty at the RMC who fail to participate may be at a disadvantage. Thus, in addition to expanding research opportunities at the RMC, it is argued that the definition of scholarship needs to be expanded to recognize the accomplishments of RMC faculty. RMC students must also be introduced to biomedical research principles and provided opportunities to engage in scholarly pursuits. Documented participation in scholarly activity may be necessary to make the student more competitive for residency positions. The authors review an expanded definition of scholarship, present an approach to promote faculty and student scholarship, and describe achievable options for scholarly activity on the RMC.