Scholarly Activity in Residency: A Needs Assessment of Challenges and Proposed Solutions

Abstract

Introduction Resident physician participation in scholarly activity is associated with significant benefits ranging from trainees’ personal development to improved quality of patient care. Residency programs have taken varied approaches to improve resident engagement in scholarship, though interventions have demonstrated mixed results regarding objective measures of scholarly productivity. Concerns regarding waining interest in scholarship amongst internal medicine residents prompted a department-wide needs assessment to evaluate opportunities for scholarship and challenges preventing resident participation. Methods A web-based survey was developed and distributed to Department of Internal Medicine faculty and residents at the PGY2 level or higher and recent graduates within the last year prior to the study. We investigated perceived opportunities for resident scholarship, perceived challenges with resident scholarly activity, preferences regarding scholarly projects, and faculty experiences with mentorship. Descrptive statistics were used to describe survey responses. Results Faculty and trainees shared similar perceptions of inadequate opportunities for resident participation in scholarly activity and endorsed a preference to join ongoing projects early in their course as opposed to starting new projects or joining projects near their completion. Both groups identified lack of resident time as a barrier to resident participation in scholarly activity but faculty were more likely to report lack of resident aptitude for research and lack of faculty time and aptitude for mentorship as challenges. Conclusions Residents and faculty are not aware of all the resources in place to support scholarship opportunities for trainees. Resident and faculty time is a significant barrier to resident scholarship and further efforts are needed to support faculty and trainee collaboration while mitigating challenges which limit the use of currently available resources. Regular curricular assessment is necessary to ensure that trainees and faculty are aware of available resources and that those resources are meeting the departments specific needs.