Association between residents' scholarly activities and publication requirement policy

Abstract

BackgroundScholarship is recognized as important in residency training worldwide. The Japan Pediatric Society (JPS) enacted a reform in 2017 to require publication of an article as a prerequisite for taking the board certification test, with the goal of increasing scholarly activity.MethodsThe purpose of this study was to provide a detailed description of the trends in residents' scholarly activities related to the JPS reform. A secondary analysis was performed on the cross‐sectional database of pediatrics residents who took the certification test in 2015–2018.ResultsThe enrolled participants were 2399 residents of which 79.7% passed the test. Publication of any type of article increased significantly (21%–22% to 100%; 0.1 to 0.3/person‐year) after the implementation of the JPS reform, whereas academic presentations did not (89% to 91%; 1.2 to 1.3/person‐year), both in terms of the percentage of the number of those who created them and the average rate of research production. Not only Japanese articles (11%–13% to 49%–53%; 0.04 to 0.15–0.17/person‐year) or case reports (10%–14% to 51%–52%; 0.03–0.05 to 0.16–0.17/person‐year), but also English articles (4%–5% to 15%–16%; 0.01–0.02 to 0.05/person‐year) and original articles (5% to 11%–17%; 0.01 to 0.03–0.05/person‐year) increased significantly. The number of each type of article publication was correlated with success in the board certification test (odds ratio 1.5–1.8).ConclusionsScholarly activities of pediatrics residents were enhanced by the JPS implementation of the article requirement policy, which is crucial to fostering a scholarly culture. The most efficient measures to promote scholarship need to be persistently investigated.

Peer Learning Has Double Effects in Clinical Research Education: A Qualitative Study

“…In addition, research education is becoming increasingly important in the training of pediatrics residents in Japan [12,13]. With approximately 40 residents training in the National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD) every year [14], research education for beginners is as important as skill sophistication for research experts concerned with evidence generation at NCCHD because it is important to train more research mentors who can provide research opportunities that enhance residents' scholarly activities [15]. The aim of the current study was to explore the effects of peer learning on beginners' research competency in clinical research education at a children's and mothers' hospital.…”