Residents have the opportunity to designate up to six weeks of electives as “research” time to explore their scholarly interests. Scholarship is broadly defined and may be based in education, public health/policy, or the clinical or basic sciences. The subject of study is solely determined by the individual resident's interest. We challenge residents to harness their interests and engagement in any area of their choosing and view it through a scholarly lens. We have found that this has provided a wonderful opportunity for residents to get first-hand experience with the process of developing a research question, collecting and evaluating data, and presenting data to their colleagues.

Many of the research projects completed by our residents have been awarded research grants; presented at state, regional, or national meetings; and published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

Based on the quality and innovative nature of our residents’ research, our residents consistently receive awards from our Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics in recognition of outstanding scholarship. In addition, following graduation we have had a number of residents pursue further research training as National Clinician Scholars (formerly Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars), General Medicine or General Pediatric Research Fellows, or through subspecialty fellowship training. Over the years, our graduates consistently comment on the value of this educational experience, even if they elect not to pursue a research-based career.