Research

 

  

 A.      Rationale

 

The RCPSC notes in the Objectives of Training that psychiatrists are able to:

4. Contribute to the development, dissemination, and translation of new knowledge and practices

4.1. Describe the principles of research and scholarly inquiry

4.2. Describe the principles of research ethics

4.3. Pose a scholarly question

4.4. Conduct a systematic search for evidence

4.5. Select and apply appropriate methods to address the question

4.6. Disseminate the findings of a study

 

 

B.     Basic Research Requirements

 

All residents entering PGY-2 on or after July 1, 2010 must complete and present a research project (as described under A.1) during their residency; other residents are highly encouraged to meet this requirement, but must at least present an acceptable project at Resident Research Day for successful graduation.  Failure to do so will result in extension of training.

 

1)      Acceptable Basic Projects:

a)      Quality assurance & program evaluation projects (these are particularly encouraged)

b)      Statistical analysis of selected factors

c)      A meta-analysis of a written body of research

d)      An intervention/involvement in a treatment protocol which is preexisting but in which the resident has a high level of involvement

e)      An educational or administration project with a research question attached

 

2)      Presentation requirements:

a)      Results must be presented at resident research day prior to graduation, preferably orally with a written abstract but possibly with a poster presentation and abstract

b)      Results must be developed to an extent that they could be submitted for publishing or presentation at a scientific meeting; ie proposals will not meet the requirement; results (or partial results) must be available.  The resident need not actually submit the research, but are encouraged to do so.

 

C.     Time Line

 

To facilitate residents in meeting the research requirement, the PGEC has set out milestones which must be met.  These will be reviewed in regular meetings with the Site Education Director and the Program Director.  Residents having difficulties with this requirement must contact the SED, PD or research mentor (Dr. Douglass).  Residents identified with significant problems meeting the milestones may be assigned a research project by the Program Director or designate:

 

1)      PYG-1 and PGY-2

a)      Residents will be provided with introductory lectures on research to enable them to be aware of research areas, basic topics

b)      Residents should be deciding on an area of interest during PGY-1 and 2

 

2)      PGY-2 requirements

a)      Residents should have a research question/ hypothesis outlined

b)      Residents must submit a ‘research proposal’ suitable for submission to the Research Ethics Board (REB) to the Research Mentor (Dr. Douglass)/designate.  The proposal would including a 250 word abstract, approximately 5 page literal review and one page describing the proposed research & statistical analysis with a list of references.

 

3)      PGY-3 requirements

a)      residents will review their research project in the PGY-3 didactic sessions relating to research or individually to the research mentor/designate

b)      residents will usually submit their research proposal to the appropriate REB by mid-PGY-3 with a plan to initiate research in late PGY-3 or PGY-4

 

4)      PGY-4/5 requirements

a)      Residents must have collected data and prepare the project for presentation/ publication

b)      Presentations will usually include Introduction (literature review), subjects, methods (including statistics), results and discussion

 

This above time-line establishing reasonable milestones, that if followed, will ensure no difficulties meeting the requirement.  Residents are highly encouraged to push this timeline up, as unexpected situations might occur but will not change the research requirements for graduation. 

 

D.     Resources

1)      Financial Support

 

All residents may access $300 for their research, to be used for reasonable expenses.  Only expenses with a receipt will be refunded.

 

2)      Resident Research Curriculum and Ethics Coordinator: Dr Alan Douglas

 

This consists of a curriculum given by Dr Douglas in PGY3 that focuses on research methodology and critical appraisal of the literature. PGY3 journal club is built into this.

 

Dr Douglas with his expertise in Research Ethics and Chair of the ROHCG REB will be a resource for residents who need assistance with ethics board proposal/presentations.

 

Dr Douglas oversees the Resident Research Stream. This task can be shared with the new position of Resident Research Project Coordinator.

 

3)      Site Education Directors

 

Site Education Directors will review research milestones for residents during meetings to ensure they are on task.  Residents who are struggling to meet the milestones will be directed to additional supports.

 

4)      Program Director

 

The Program Director will review progression of research during annual meetings.  Residents unable to meet requirements should clarify their needs.

 

5)      Research Advice

 

Research advice around potential topics, research methods, ethics approval is available from multiple sources.  For residents at the ROMHC, they may access the IMHR with a wealth of experience.  Residents at TOH may access the OHRI also.  Residents may also be directed to the University research resources, including the Methods Centre.

 

As well, residents are highly encouraged to speak with senior residents and their resident research reps to get further advice, mentorship and direction.

 

6)      Research during clinical rotations

 

The RCPSC encourages residents to complete as many training requirements in an integrated fashion, tying experiences into primary psychiatry rotations.  In this model, residents should consider tying their research requirement to a clinical rotation they are doing or to their education/administration tasks if contemplating an education/administration project.  This will usually require some planning and foresight, as ethics approval is usually time consuming and would usually need to be completed prior to initiating research.  Some institutions wave this requirement for program evaluation projects. 

 

E.     Resident Research Stream

1)      Background & Rationale

 

Some residents come into psychiatry with keen research interests or develop an interest in doing research in their career.  Usually these individuals would want to explore research with a view to continuing research as part of their career path.  We are fortunate to have two Canada Research Chairs and numerous experienced researchers available and interested in assisting residents in research advancement.

 

2)      Minimal Entry requirements & Clinical Performance

 

Although the PGEC supports research interests, the primary goal of psychiatry residency training is producing high quality psychiatrists.  As such, only residents with above average clinical performance can apply to the research stream.

 

Residents in the research stream must be able to balance their research commitments with clinical rotations and other learning needs.  As such, they must pro-actively ensure that any clinical/psychotherapy supervisors are aware of time away from service.  Regardless of any commitments, residents must always meet the minimum of 20 hours (3 days) per week on service.  If a resident’s clinical performance drops (evidenced by lower evaluations on clinical rotations, concerns about time-management/professionalism, poor performance on ACSE/interview skills), the resident may be required to withdraw from the research stream.

 

 

 

3)      Expectations

 

Residents interested in the research stream would usually strive to complete at least one high calibre research project (or more) during residency.  The results must be submitted for publication and/or a scientific meeting.  Residents in the research stream must present annually at resident research day. 

 

Residents in the research stream are expected to demonstrate leadership in research.  Specifically, residents in the research stream will be responsible for acting as the research representative on the PGEC and will act as a “go-to” resource for non-research stream residents to promote and enhance research experiences.  This would include suggesting potential supervisors, clarification of statistical questions for other residents (in consultation/collaboration with Dr. Douglass), and helping to “bridge the gap” between research and residents.  This would likely also include reviewing PGY-2/3 resident research proposals with Dr. Douglass.

 

Residents will also participate in extra research opportunities.  Residents will ideally be involved in writing a grant, completing & publishing research and eventually presenting the research at a scientific meeting.  Residents with career interests in research will be directed to key research supervisors in the department.

 

4)      Time commitments

 

Residents may apply for protected research time while on clinical rotations, up to a half day per week.  Usually this would be limited to 3 to 6 months.  Alternatively, this could be a full-time research elective taken during training lasting 3 to 6 months.  The longitudinal rotation could be renewed in 6 month blocks until the end of residency, upon approval of the supervisor, research coordinator, and PGEC.

 

If productive and with a clear research track interest, a resident could theoretically start research during PGY-1, continued throughout training and carried beyond graduation in the Clinical Investigator Program.  Some residents may wish to pursue

 

5)      Application procedure

 

Residents should apply to Dr. Alan Douglass with a discussion of research interests and goals during residency.  Residents must develop a research question prior to enrolment in the research stream.  Once approved by Dr. Douglass, the title and proposal will be forwarded to the PGEC for the Program Director’s signature.  The proposal should include:

·         Hypothesis/research question

·         Research time-line (including goals for the time period of the elective)

·         Supervisor

·         Requested time for elective

 

Residents must re-apply for any renewal of a research elective.  For approval, the resident will need to demonstrate that they are on track with psychotherapy requirements and are performing well on rotations (including attending didactics and meeting the required number of hours on rotations).

 

6)      Evaluation

 

The RCPSC mandates that all longitudinal rotations must be evaluated separately with a separate ITER.  Both mid-term and final ITERs must be completed by the resident’s supervisor or the time may not be credited to the resident, resulting in possible extension of training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drafted: June 2010 BB