Assuring the research competence of orthopedic graduates

To assure that orthopaedic residents have the knowledge needed to critically appraise the medical/surgical literature and the skills needed to design and conduct musculoskeletal and orthopaedic research.

Residency program of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio.

Established in 2005, members of the residency program's Research Team (RT) include orthopaedic faculty and residents, university faculty and graduate students, community scientists, and department staff.

The membership and responsibilities of the Research Team are described. The goals of the three-month research rotation during the second year of residency and the activities of the assigned resident are reported. The work of the two research residents during the second year of their six-year program is explained. Helpful educational resources are noted, the role of the faculty research mentor defined, funding sources listed, and the financial support for RT members and research staff presented.

The scholarly activity of orthopaedic surgery residents increased substantially from the five-year period before the implementation of the Research Team (September 2000 through August 2005) to the four-year period after initiation of the RT (September 2005 through November 2009). For peer-reviewed scholarship activity, publications on which residents were authors increased from 1 to 10 per year, national presentations at professional meetings increased from 6 to 11 per year, and local and regional presentations increased from 2 to 4 per year.

The Research Team is an effective strategy for assuring that orthopaedic residents have the knowledge and skills to evaluate clinical care evidence and to conduct musculoskeletal and orthopaedic research.