A method of teaching clinical research in a community hospital residency program

Background: To provide clinical research experience in community hospital programs, we integrated research training with the daily work of surgical residency. Methods: Teaching conferences and daily care of patients served as a source of projects. Emphasizing team work, high-yield projects are assigned to principal resident investigators, who lead a project team. Regular meetings with the faculty provides guidance and supervision, working to meet an deadline. Results: Over a 3-year period, 10 of 16 trainees participated in at least one project. Thirteen projects were presented at national meetings and 13 articles (including 6 from presentations) were published. Three projects were abandoned for lack of progress, and 5 manuscripts have been rejected.