Increasing Residency Research Output While Cultivating Community Research Collaborations

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health Research
• Family Medicine

Background:

• Residency programs benefit from research curricula and resident research days.
• External research collaborations can enhance residency research activity.
• A community-wide health research forum can engage faculty and residents, fostering collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a community-wide health research forum.
• To evaluate the forum's impact on research activity and collaborations.

Main Methods:

• A yearly health research forum has been conducted for 10 years at a community-based family medicine residency.
• The forum invites faculty and residents to present scholarly work.
• Researchers from local hospitals, the university, and private practice are invited to present.

Main Results:

• Peer-reviewed publications increased from six (1997-2006) to 26 (2007-2016).
• Presentations also saw significant increases.
• 28 collaborative projects were completed or are in progress with various university departments.

Conclusions:

• A regional health research event successfully increased research productivity.
• The forum significantly advanced research collaborations between the residency program and the local university.