PROGRESS ON A PILOT PROGRAM OF RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT DURING RESIDENCY

An Update on the ABFM-Approved Pilot Program of Integrated Mentored Research Training During Residency

In late November 2017, the ADFM Research Development Committee reported on a proposal made to and approved by the American Board of Family Medicine to create a pilot program for a Family Medicine Physician Scientist Pathway (FM-PSP).¹ In that commentary, we shared background and planned features of the program, designed as an alternative to current post-residency fellowship programs for residents who wish to pursue a research career in family medicine. Other primary care specialties employ a residency research pathway to recruit medical students with concurrent interest in a research career, but before the advent of the FM-PSP, the specialty of family medicine has lacked this essential tool.

With this new pathway option, medical students interested in a research career have the option to participate in the FM-PSP model of integrated clinical and research training during residency rather than seek research fellowships after completing residency. This integrated training allows participants to begin the path of a career of independently funded research straight out of medical school without having a “gap” in research training during the years of residency. The FM-PSP includes rigorous methodological training in quantitative and qualitative research as well as scientific writing with the intention that participants will be able to write high-quality peer-reviewed publications and competitive NIH-type grant applications during (and after) their training. Some of the research coursework may be applied towards an advanced degree (eg, MPH, MS, etc) if desired. Learn more about the pathway at our website: https://www.adfm.org/programs/physician-scientist-pathway.

The FM-PSP, currently in a pilot phase, is designed to allow the participating programs and residents some flexibility in structure, including how residents enter or exit the program in terms of timing (PGY1 or later), length of the program, and curriculum. Because of the built-in time designated for research throughout the years of training, all PSP residents should plan for the full length of training to be 4 to 5 years.

The 7 residency programs currently participating in the pilot are:

• Case Western (site lead: Goutham Rao, MD)

• University of California, Davis (site lead: Anthony Jerant, MD)

• University of Florida (site lead: Peter Carek, MD, MS)

• University of Kansas (Belinda Vail, MD, MS)

• University of Pennsylvania (site lead: Margaret Baylson, MD, MPH)

• University of Utah (site lead: Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH)

• Virginia Commonwealth University (site lead: Alex Krist, MD, MPH)

The program is overseen by an Advisory Board, chaired by James Puffer, MD, President and CEO Emeritus of the ABFM. Members of the Advisory Board include: Hazel Tapp, PhD (representing NAPCRG), Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH (representing AAFP), Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH (representing ADFM), Robert Phillips, MD, MSPH (representing ABFM), Bernard Ewigman, MD, MSPH (representing ADFM), and Chyke A. Doubeni, MD, MPH (PSP initial idea & proposer). In addition to these stellar representatives from across the family of family medicine, we are pleased to have 2 new individuals join the Ad Board from outside of national family medicine organizations: Richard Wender, MD, Chief Cancer Control Officer of the American Cancer Society and David Chambers, DPhil, Deputy Director for Implementation Science in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences at the National Cancer Institute, a part of NIH.

Now, with year 1 of the pilot under our belt, we have learned about some of the benefits and challenges for pilot sites in recruitment. The Advisory Board is committed to this initial learning phase of the pilot and is working to streamline the description of the pathway, develop a communication and dissemination strategy, and address barriers to participation such as the perceived length of training and availability of mentors under the FM-PSP. We look forward to continued updates and an evaluation plan for the pathway as we continue in this pilot phase.