[Commitment and development of competences in clinical research in residency training programs in Chile]

In Chile, residency training programs (RTP) take place in a stimulating academic environment for the promotion of clinical research skills. However, research is not a frequent curricular outcome. Accreditation of these programs by the National Accreditation Commission is an opportunity to improve the trainee's research competences.

To analyze in the RTP curricula, the explicit intention to carry out clinical research and its correlation with the scientific productivity of professors and residents.

Fifty six training study programs corresponding to six primary specialties and six derived specialties, offered by seven universities holding accreditation tenure for RTP from the Chilean Association of Medicine Faculties (ASOFAMECH) up to 2005, were analyzed. The analysis included each academic program, courses and/or rotations and professors and residents' productivity, measured as publications accredited in the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), between 1999 and 2007.

RTP are based on a tutorial educational model, where the close relationship between professors and residents is essential for the expected final outcome. Simultaneously, the programs' curricula revealed a high intentionality towards clinical research. However, professors' publications of ISI indexed articles showed a low and irregular scientific productivity.

The gap between the declared training in clinical research and the effective ISI productivity is an awareness call with respect to the contribution that RTP could provide to accreditation, to professors and residents, and in general to health improvement in the country.