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WHY STUDY RESEARCH DURING RESIDENCY?The primary advances in medicine over the last century have been by the application of scientific principles to the ancient art. Early healers and Shaman applied principles of nature as they understood them to those afflicted by injury or illness. These principles of nature were rarely based on scientific fact and provided little more than placebo effect. Even today many of the patients we treat place stock in psychic forecasting, spiritualism, and pure junk pseudoscience. Like it or not, we practice in a world filled with science. Some of the science is good, but much of it is bad. As a practitioner of medicine you need to know how to tell the difference between good science, and bad. As physicians, it is our hope that good science and reason will guide our treatment and recommendations as we care for the patients entrusted to us. In addition, at some point in your career you may wish to add to the body of knowledge by conducting research yourself.
The creation, use, and interpretation of medical literature based on proper research and clinical testing is vital to the progression of medical science. Emergency physicians must be capable of interpreting the medical literature and determining if such literature will change the way they practice emergency medicine. The primary aim of this educational program is to introduce you to methods by which they can more readily understand and critique the medical literature. To do this, it is important that you have an understanding of how hypothesis generation, study methods, and analysis occur. Federal law prohibits some types of research, and stringently regulates all research pertaining to the use of human subjects. Consent, confidentiality, and ethical issues are vital in the conducting of modern research. Statistical analysis, rigorously applied to our medical observations lends confidence to our ability to accept or reject hypotheses. The explosion of data within the medical literature has rendered it impossible for a single individual to assimilate all the information of even a single specialty area. Computers have become pervasive within the medical environment and are essential and retrieving information regarding new or standard diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. Computers have also made it possible for practitioners and researchers to consolidate worldwide research and opinions regarding discrete medical topic areas. Advances toward outcome based medicine make it necessary that physicians be capable of using computers for literature searches to acquire information regarding medical treatment of their patients. By understanding the basic principals involved in the preparation of research protocols and the writing of research proposals, abstracts, and manuscripts, residents will acquire a deeper understanding of how the medical literature comes into existence. And they may indeed find themselves better prepared to perform their own observations in medical science helping us all to more fully understand the human condition. From: Hogan DE: Research for Emergency Medicine Residents. 2nd edition 2006. p. 1. The research program at Integris Southwest Medical Center is integrated into the general didactic series of the Emergency Medicine Residency Program. Each resident (PGY II to PGY IV) is required by the American Osteopathic Association – American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, to produce one written project yearly. This program meets or exceeds that requirement. Click Here to learn more about the nature of research Click Here to see research conducted by Southwest residents. |
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