Research

We believe that all residents should participate in some form of scholarly activity during residency. However, we do not require that all residents participate in original research. All residents are trained in and complete a quality improvement project during the course of their residencies. In addition all residents acquire skills in critical appraisal of the literature through participation in Journal Club and preparation of Educational Prescriptions for presentation to their colleagues and faculty members. Residents interested in pursuing research and scholarship projects during residency are encouraged to do so, and elective time can be used for those activities. Residents who wish to complete an ambitious research project during residency can participate in our Research Option, which results in graduation after 3 years with Distinction in Research; the Research Option is separate and distinct from the ABIM Research Pathway (an accelerated residency and fellowship combined track with a separate application process).

Research and Scholarship Electives

Categorical residents may use elective time for research and scholarship activities. Research rotations can be traditional 2 or 4-week blocks of time, or residents can choose to replace a year-long ambulatory elective with a research elective (e.g., using a half-day per week during each of their ambulatory blocks for research rather than a subspecialty elective over the course of a year) in our block model.

Preliminary residents may use a 2 week elective to pursue research rather than a specialty rotation. This block has been successfully used to start projects (e.g., design project and submit RSRB applications) that will then continue in their PGY2 and beyond.

A popular venue to present your work is Resident Poster Day. This is an annual event open to any Internal Medicine or Medicine-Pediatrics resident in the city of Rochester. Residents who present at Poster Day frequently participate at the New York State regional or Annual American College of Physicians poster sessions.

Dr. John Grable is our Assistant Program Director for Research. Dr. Grable can help connect residents with appropriate faculty. In addition, residents are able to contact him with questions about resident research and/or Resident Poster Day. 

• Visit the DOM Poster Day site to see the latest award winners and additional abstracts, presentations and posters submitted.

The Research Option

The Research Option provides an opportunity for interested residents to receive their residency diploma with distinction in research. The resident should begin planning a research project during their PGY1 year and should have a proposal ready for review by the departmental committee no later than the beginning of the PGY2 year. If the project is approved, the resident may use four weeks of elective time in the PGY2 year and up to four weeks of elective time in the PGY3 year for focused work on their project. Alternatively, the resident can use ambulatory sessions within the block model to protect time to perform mentored research.

Completion of the research option requires:

• Presentation of the completed project at a noon conference in the spring of the PGY3 year. The presentation will be attended and critiqued by a panel of faculty experts.

      Here are the Research Option presentations by resident of their work in 2023 and 2024.

• Preparation of a manuscript suitable for submission for publication.