Research Opportunities
Georgetown
maintains a strong commitment to support research , including recent creation of
a separate Office of the Dean of Research and substantial capital investment in
new research space. The Dean's Office assists in grant applications for faculty,
fellows, and, in some cases, house staff, and also offers a network available
database of faculty research projects. The department's funding of NIH grants
has increased over four-fold in four years. This increase is reflected in
outstanding subspecialty and basic science leadership, as well as in clinical
and heath services. The Chief Residents accumulate a list of those projects
identified by division chiefs as amenable to involvement by house staff. In
addition, house staff have the opportunity to work directly under the tutelage
of faculty members to receive training in both basic and clinical research
during their elective research months. These mentorship relationships are
designed to assist in the development of multidisciplinary technical skills,
research design, grantsmanship, and manuscript preparation. House staff are
matched with mentors according to their particular interests and career goals.
We have recently developed several
mechanisms to help residents participate in scholarly activities. A "Mentor
Program" assigns each resident a mentor in general internal medicine or an area
of subspecialty interest. The Residency Director schedules a career counseling
session with each resident during the first year for assignment of a mentor for
residents who have not identified one.
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We have encouraged
participation in the regional and national Clinical Vignette and Research
Abstract Competition of the American College of Physicians. The house staff
has submitted several abstracts for regional and national competition and
have participated in the Annual City-Wide Associates' Meeting on a regular
basis. This year, the residents with winning abstracts were honored, several
of which were also presented at the Departmental Research Conference.
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The department offers an annual
competition for a protected block of research time for residents. Additionally,
an Introduction to Research core curriculum is presented in the evenings for
residents and new fellows. Plans are in progress to include a similarly
formatted core curriculum in Immunobiology and Molecular Biology.
The department has developed
several mechanisms to identify talented individuals early in their careers for
potential entry into the Clinical Investigator pathway as described above.
Currently, four individuals are in the ABIM Clinical Investigator Pathway. A
number of residents have initiated projects in health sciences research,
including an innovative project to create and evaluate a formulary in the
resident clinic.
Research Conference
The department holds a monthly research conference at which faculty describe
ongoing research activities. In addition, a Spring Research Day is held annually
as a forum for faculty and residents to present recent and ongoing research in
the department. The day includes scientific podium and poster presentations that
allow residents to keep abreast of the spectrum of research at Georgetown.
Residents have also been quite active in participation in regional and national
ACP-ASIM meetings, showcasing their clinical vignettes and / or clinical
research. Approximately two department residents enter the Clinical Investigator
Pathway of the ABIM each year.
Resident Research Conference
Residents are required to participate in a scholarly project during their
training. Residents are assigned to present a scholarly review of a topic of
their choice. These conferences are held twice monthly at Georgetown and at
affiliates. In addition, a resident research interest group has been formed to
nurture individual and class research projects.