Scholarly activity is an important component of family medicine education. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), through the Core Competencies, has introduced and required additional goals for residency programs. Several of these competencies involve the incorporation of scholarly activity into the patient care experience. In the Program Requirements for Residency Education in Family Practice, the Residency Review Committee for Family Practice states that “graduate medical education must take place in an environment of inquiry and scholarship in which residents participate in the development of new knowledge, learn to evaluate research findings, and develop habits of inquiry as a continuing professional responsibility.”
Overall, family medicine residency program directors mostly support scholarly activity in their programs. In an earlier survey, more than one half of family practice residency program directors believed that their training program actively promoted research.1 Furthermore, 3 out of 4 indicated that involving residents in research was a goal of the program.
While scholarly activity leads to professional development for the resident and meets accreditation standards for the program, further rewards associated with this activity are not always clearly defined or present. Oeffinger et al2 examined how time was allotted for family medicine faculty to pursue scholarly activities and how these activities are rewarded. Most programs and departments do not have an explicit reward system. As recommended by the authors, further studies are needed to determine whether the use of protected time and a reward system enhance scholarly activity.
As an added reward for conducting quality scholarly activity, the family practice residency programs affiliated with the South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium (SC AHEC) are attempting to incorporate scholarly activity with a retreat-like atmosphere. For the past 2 years, SC AHEC has supported a symposium for residents in its 8 affiliated family medicine residency programs. The purpose of the symposium is to provide an opportunity for residents to present their scholarly work. The 10-minute presentations are categorized into specific areas (basic research, clinical review, case report, and quality improvement). A focus on topics of interest to a primary care audience (eg, patient care, preventive strategies, practice-based systems of care, or resident education) is encouraged for submission.
In addition, SC AHEC provides participating residents funding to spend a weekend away from their residency programs with their families. This past year, the symposium was conducted at a resort park that offered outstanding recreational opportunities, including a beautiful 18-hole championship golf course; trails for hiking, walking and biking; tennis courts, and facilities for archery and skeet shooting. In addition to access to a 70,000-acre lake for fishing and boating, the park featured a motel, park cabins, a restaurant, and meeting facilities.
As noted by Gary Goforth, MD, residency program director at Self Regional Healthcare Family Practice Residency Program and Chair of the SC AHEC Family Practice Residency Directors’ Council, the annual symposium “has increased and formalized the scholarly activity conducted in the family medicine residency programs throughout our state.” In addition, Dr. Goforth believes that this symposium allows residents from the various programs to interact with one another in both a professional and informal manner.
The symposium conducted by SC AHEC offers many of the advantages of a residency retreat with the addition of a scholarly theme. Although most family medicine residency programs offer resident retreats, only a few studies have been published specifically addressing value of resident retreats in the overall resident personal development and stress management.3,4 A research or similar scholarly symposium provides the intangible benefits and rewards of a retreat (ie, improved resident morale, cohesion, social support, and camaraderie) while providing a forum for scholarly presentation.
- © 2004 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.