Promoting Scholarly Activity in Pediatric Postgraduate Training: A Scoping Review

There is limited guidance on best practices for integrating scholarly activities into pediatric postgraduate training.

To synthesize the evidence on interventions that aim to promote scholarly activity among pediatric trainees.

MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and ProQuest ERIC.

We included studies reporting interventions that aimed to increase scholarly activity among pediatric residents and general pediatric/subspecialty fellows. The primary outcome was scholarly activity, defined as participation in scholarly projects, presentations, publications, and grants related to basic science or clinical research, quality improvement, and medical education.

We categorized included studies by intervention type.

Of 6181 studies screened, 23 were included. Four studies specified including training in quality improvement or medical education. Intervention types included longitudinal curriculum (n = 1), specialized elective/stream (n = 5), mentorship (n = 2), administrative mandate (n = 4), funding support/research award (n = 2), gamification (n = 1), short-term curriculum (n = 3), and longitudinal curriculum plus mentorship (n = 5). Of 16 studies with comparison data, 13 (81%) showed improvement in at least 1 primary outcome in the intervention group compared to control. Where comparison data were available, specialized electives/streams and short-term curricula were associated with increased presentations and/or publications, while other intervention types showed mixed results.

Various evidence-based interventions can promote scholarly activity among pediatric trainees. Implementing specialized electives/streams and short-term curricula may improve scholarly activity without a substantial time investment. Future research should assess trainee scholarly needs and include a more rigorous assessment of interventions to promote scholarly activity, particularly in quality improvement and medical education, with appropriate comparison groups.