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Resident Research Program

Syllabus

A. Goal of the Program:

A goal of the University of Maryland Neurology Program is to expose residents to the research and academic aspects of neurology. Whether the resident’s career goal is academics or practice, experience in scholarship is an important component of the residency experience. Hands-on experience in scholarly activity will provide residents with skills necessary to critically evaluate medical literature and how it applies to clinical practice, in addition to preparing residents for a possible career in academic medicine.

B. ACGME Requirements:

The ACGME requires the following as core aspects of a neurology residency:

  1. The curriculum must advance residents’ knowledge of the basic principles of research, including how research is conducted, evaluated, explained to patients, and applied to patient care.

  2. Residents should participate in scholarly activity. Scholarly activity is defined as:

    1. Publication of research in a peer reviewed journal indexed on PubMed

    2. Abstract presentation (poster or platform) at a regional, national, or international meeting.

    3. Publication of a textbook chapter

    4. Participation in a funded or non-funded basic science or clinical outcomes research project

    5. Lecture or presentation (such as grand rounds or case presentations) of at least 30 minutes duration within the sponsoring institution or program

  3. The sponsoring institution and program should allocate adequate educational resources to facilitate resident involvement in scholarly activities.

The resident research program in the University of Maryland School of Medicine Neurology Residency has been designed to satisfy the goals listed above (section A) while also contributing to specifically meeting the ACGME requirements (section B).

C. Didactic Learning:

Annual lectures will be provided to the residents to provide education on the processes of developing and implementing a plan for scholarly activity. The following lectures will be provided:

  1. Development of a Research Idea: This lecture will focus on the methods for developing a research idea and initiation of a project. Topics will include:

    1. Development of a hypothesis

    2. Assembling a research team

    3. Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval

    4. Obtaining research funding

  2. Completing Research and Disseminating Results: This lecture will focus on methods for completing a project, analyzing data, and dissemination of results.

    1. Data collection

    2. Statistical analysis

    3. Abstract presentation

    4. Manuscript preparation and submission

    5. Parlaying results into future research and grants

D. Mentorship:

Mentorship is necessary to provide guidance to the resident to help meet their goals for scholarly activity. Mentorship team includes:

  1. Faculty Advisor – Assigned to each resident in their PGY2 year

    1. Resident and Advisor meet twice yearly (July-Sept and Jan-March). Advisor report will be submitted by September 30 and March 30 each year. (See guidelines for Neurology Advisor Program for further details of topics to be covered).

    2. As part of this mentorship, the Advisor will be required to discuss the resident's plan for scholarly activity, ensure that they are on schedule for completion of a project based on their PGY year, and provide guidance to help the resident past any obstacles to scholarly activity they may be encountering. The Advisor should also help facilitate resident contact with an appropriate research mentor

  2. Research Mentor – Faculty member who will guide the resident through completion of their scholarly activity.

E. Scholarly Activity:

In addition to case presentations performed as part of Grand Rounds, each resident must satisfy the ACGME scholarly activity requirement through one or more scholarly activity projects to be completed by the end of the PGY4 year. Residents are strongly encouraged to satisfy this requirement through participation in one or more hypothesis-driven funded or non-funded research projects. Doing so will not only provide experience in performance of research, but will also provide opportunities for presentation of their research at academic meetings and/or publication in peer-reviewed journals. Publication of a systematic review article or a textbook chapter are less preferable but satisfactory. Publication of a case series with comprehensive literature review is less preferable but also satisfactory. Individual case reports and other types of scholarly activity are encouraged, but do not fulfill the program’s scholarly activity requirement. Residents should follow the following timeline for their scholarly activity projects:

  • PGY2 year: The resident will begin to identify a focus area for their scholarly activity. It is preferable that the resident focus on a neurology subspecialty in which they plan to obtain subspecialty training, but this is not required and indecision about subspecialty career plans should not delay involvement in research. The resident will work with their Faculty Advisor to identify the focus area and make contact with a faculty member performing research in that area by the end of the PGY2 year. A list of faculty members performing research in the Department of Neurology and their active projects is found here. Residents can use this list as guidance towards picking a research mentor and project.

  • PGY3 year: The resident will work with the research mentor identified in the PGY2 year to create a plan for scholarly activity. By the end of the PGY3 year, the resident and mentor will have done the following:

  1. If the resident is to take on a role in the mentor's current/ongoing research project(s), this role will be defined and a plan will be made as to the details of this participation and a timeline.

  2. If the resident is to create an original research project, the resident and research mentor will work together to solidify the research idea, create any necessary data collection instruments, and obtain IRB approval and funding, if necessary. If necessary for completion of the project, the resident should also receive any necessary training in data acquisition methods (e.g. laboratory methods) during the PGY3 year.

  3. If the resident plans to perform a systematic review, textbook chapter, or case series, the resident should work with the research mentor to create a plan and timeline for completion of this project.

  • PGY4 year: Throughout the year, and especially during elective/research blocks, the resident will work to perform data collection, analysis, and prepare any associated abstract and/or manuscript submissions.

F. End of Year Presentations:

Each resident will be required to present the results of their scholarly activity project to the department at the end of their PGY4 year. This will occur in two formats.

  1. All graduating PGY4 residents will be required to prepare a research poster discussing the details of their project and research results. These posters will be presented formally at the annual departmental research poster session. Any PGY2/3 residents that may have data ready to present are also encouraged to participate in this poster session, but this is not required.

  2. All graduating PGY4 residents will also be required to prepare a 20-minute presentation on their work, which will be presented during one of two sessions at the end of the year during Neurology Grand Rounds.

Last Updated: June 14, 2019