The program has defined specific expectations for each PGY year to ensure that every resident by the end of their three years will have experienced different research techniques and presentations.  Projects in all years are supervised by a Faculty member selected by the Resident, who assists with the project outline, abstract preparation, oral presentation or poster creation. Research Days are in late May.

• The PGY 1 resident will develop and present a case presentation during research days. This will be an oral presentation (10 minutes) followed by a question and answer period (up to 5 minutes).
• The PGY 2 resident will participate in a quality assurance project.  These projects are presented in poster format during a poster presentation session. A 2 minute oral presentation/summary and a 5 minute question period will follow the poster presentations. These projects can be done in pairs.
• The PGY 3 resident will participate in a research project.  These are presented at research day as an oral presentation (10 minutes) followed by a question and answer period (up to 5 minutes).  The spectrum of research projects is vast from: basic science, medical education, evaluation of interventions, involvement in randomized controlled trials. This research can be done in pairs.

Expectations and Evaluation of Resident Research

The objectives of the research program in the Internal Medicine program are as follows:

1. Become familiar with the generation and dissemination of research through oral presentations, poster presentations and abstract preparation.
2. To attend core academic teaching applicable to research including ethics, study design, abstract writing skills, and presentation skills.
3. Gain competence in literature review, data synthesis, data analysis and interpretation.

It is expected that each resident in the core internal medicine residency program participate in an annual research project, as described above.  The presentation and dissemination of the work produced will occur during a formal Resident Research Days held annually in May or June of each academic year.  

The research expectations have been defined by post-graduate year (PGY) to promote a broad exposure to research types. It is not expected that these project result in publications or national/international presentations. However, outstanding projects or interested residents will be supported and mentored if presentations or publications are appropriate.  The three project styles will promote knowledge of critical assessment of literature, synthesis of data, public presentation and defense of experimental questions, and strong knowledge in the area of their research projects.

There will be a formal assessment and grading by a panel of judges with feedback provided.  The top three projects in each PGY year are acknowledged with awards at the annual Resident Research Day banquet.

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons CanMEDS

This expectation of annual research projects helps to meet the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons CanMEDS competencies in several descriptors, including scholar, communicator, expert, manager and professional.