Interest and experience of anaesthesiology residents in doing research during residency training

Abstract

Background and Aims:The SingHealth Anaesthesiology Residency Program is a 5-year postgraduate training programme whose curriculum covers clinical and academic training, through research and educational activities. This study aimed to describe the needs of the residents in promoting research participation during residency.Methods:After obtaining ethics committee approval, we conducted an online anonymous survey among all residents in the Residency Program. The questionnaire comprised questions of demographic data, levels of research interest, areas of interest, the obstacles to research and the potential areas where help can be improved. SAS (version 9.4, 2017; SAS Institute Inc.) was used for descriptive analysis and logistic regression.Results:Sixty-seven of the 79 residents (84.8%) in the Program responded with 58 (73.4%) completing the survey. Fifty-six of the 62 (90%) expressed some level of interest in research. The top two areas of research interest were clinical research and medical education research. The top obstacles to research were lack of time (due to competing clinical time and work–life balance) and lack of mentorship. The top three areas of research support needed by residents were supervised research protected time, departmental research manpower support and mentorship with topic expertise. Senior Residents were more likely to have higher research interest, self-initiated research participation and consideration for research as part of career progression, compared with junior residents.Conclusion:Residents faced many obstacles in doing research during residency training. Our findings also highlighted some of the needs for research support reported by the residents during their specialty training.

Why residents quit: Prevalence of and reasons for attrition among anaesthesia residents in a single sponsoring institution

“…The SingHealth Anaesthesiology Residency Programme (SHARP) is governed by the policies of the Accreditation Council Graduate Medical Education – International (ACGME-I) – and has been taking in the largest number of residents in the country since 2011. 2 The SHARP curriculum extends over 5 years. 2 In addition to the ACGME-I requirements, junior residents are required to pass the two-part Master in Medicine (MMed) Anaesthesiology examinations before they can progress to Senior Residency (SR), the final 2 years of the programme.…”

“…2 The SHARP curriculum extends over 5 years. 2 In addition to the ACGME-I requirements, junior residents are required to pass the two-part Master in Medicine (MMed) Anaesthesiology examinations before they can progress to Senior Residency (SR), the final 2 years of the programme. At the end of their second year in SR, residents must pass an exit examination before they can be accredited as specialists.…”

Evaluation of a research methods course for clinical residents

“…10,20,24,25 Prior studies have reported a lack of proper mentoring as a significant barrier for research. 4,8 Residents of TUOMS were less motivated to do research due to 1) mandatory research topics and 2) advisors/ mentors.…”

“…Time for research is crucial in clinical residency. 4,8,10,25,26 In the TUOMS research program, a protected one month period during the first year of residency was allocated to proposal writing, but program directors did not consider a similar protected time for research execution. Although one month of protected time helped residents complete proposals, it caused understaffed wards, scheduling difficulties, and residents missing some clinical experience.…”

“…1 "Citations per faculty" is one of the criteria accepted by most worldwide organizations to rank universities, persuading university program directors to include scholarly activities in all educational programs to increase publication rates among medical students and residents. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Evidence shows various barriers toward residents' research; however, there are reports of successful results, and often benefits are more than merely an increase in publications. Residents with research training are more satisfied with their careers and deliver better patient care.…”