Incorporating research into a postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residency

To implement a longitudinal research experience in the form of an embedded mini-fellowship in a first-postgraduate year (PGY1) residency program.

In September 2011, a research module was initiated and research meetings were established on a recurrent basis throughout the residency so that residents would have protected time for academic work. The research module was structured around lecture seminars, statistical analysis workshops, and works-in-progress sessions.

Two residents completed the initial module and worked on multiple research projects. The projects were assessed by the lead faculty member on the research module based on established learning objectives for the module. The 3 completed research projects were presented at national meeting poster sessions. Five papers were submitted to scholarly journals for peer review. Residents were able to submit their final required project manuscripts just 4 months after beginning the research module.

Formalizing the research efforts of PGY1 residents by establishing a research module with protected time ensured residents worked steadily toward established deadlines and met the objectives of the module.