Research-Track Programs for Residents in Psychiatry: A Review of Literature and a Report of 3 Canadian Experiences

Abstract

Objectives: Clinician-scientists occupy an interesting position at the interface between science and care, and have a role to play in bridging the 2 valleys between fundamental and clinical research, and between clinical research and clinical practice. However, research training during medical residency for future clinician scientists is an important but challenging process. Our article, written by residents and directors of research-track (RT) programs, aimed at reviewing literature on RT programs for residents, and describing the organization of RT programs at 3 Canadian universities (the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, and McGill University). Methods:A systematic MEDLINE search was conducted for the review section. Psychiatry program directors in Canada were also contacted to provide information about potential RT programs.Results: Twenty articles were related to resident RT programs in medicine, including 6 in psychiatry. Moreover, 5 out of 16 Canadian programs were found to offer a formal RT program, of which 3 are described here. Most reviewed articles described the program organization, while only one provided an outcome assessment with evidence of increased scholarly activity following RT implementation. Conclusions:Our article sheds light on postgraduate programs aiming at facilitating the dual training of future clinician-scientists, and developed during the last 10 years. It also highlights the lack of outcome assessment, and the paucity of guidelines to organize these programs in relation to the national requirements. W W WLes programmes de travaux de recherche pour les résidents en psychiatrie : une revue de la littérature et un rapport sur 3 expériences canadiennes Objectifs : Les cliniciens scientifiques occupent une position intéressante à l'interface entre la science et les soins, et ont un rôle à jouer pour combler les 2 fossés entre la recherche fondamentale et la recherche clinique d'une part, et entre la recherche clinique et la pratique clinique d'autre part. Toutefois, la formation en recherche durant la résidence médicale pour les futurs cliniciens scientifiques est un processus important mais pleins de défis. Notre article, rédigé par des résidents et des directeurs de programmes de recherche (PR), portait sur une revue de la littérature traitant des programmes de PR pour les résidents, et une description de l'organisation des programmes de PR à 3 universités canadiennes

Integrating clinical and research training in child psychiatry: fifteen-year outcomes of a federally supported program

“…As a result, promising medical students who have both a passion for research as well as a commitment to the wellbeing of children and adolescents have few opportunities to pursue these goals immediately following their graduation from medical school. There certainly have been laudable and varied approaches to enhance research literacy and training during psychiatric residency [17][18][19][20] and CAP fellowship [21], but it is not clear that such interventions have had a long-term impact in the number of independently funded researchers, and particularly in the clinician-scientist tradition. There are inadequate numbers of medical students pursuing specialty careers in academic psychiatry; there is insufficient mentoring at all career levels; and there are far too few institutional and departmental resources devoted to this enterprise.…”

Teaching Lifelong Research Skills in Residency: Implementation and Outcome of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Course

“…1 To accomplish these goals, many programs have developed longitudinal research curricula [2][3][4][5][6][7] and/or research tracks. [8][9][10] Approaches described in the literature vary in the amount of devoted research time, ranging from protected research blocks [11][12][13] to a dedicated research year. 14 Yet, programs continue to struggle to successfully integrate practical research experience into residency training.…”

Career Interests of Canadian Psychiatry Residents: What Makes Residents Choose a Research Career?

“…These findings have important implications for the recruitment and training of future clinician-researchers in psychiatry. Training programs, even those with an RT, 12 have tended to place almost exclusive importance on clinical training in the first 2 years of residency, with little dedicated time available for research activities until PGY-4. 12 Training future clinician-researchers remains a priority for Canadian psychiatry departments and universities have invested extensive resources into RTs.…”

“…10,11 Research tracks (RTs) were recently created across Canada to help promote residents' interest in research. However, research training during residency remains challenging due to the wide range of skills that need to be acquired often concurrently with clinical training, 12 including study design, data collection and analysis, writing manuscripts and grants, training students, and running a laboratory.…”