Development and implementation of a sustainable research curriculum for general surgery residents: A foundation for developing a research culture

Background: Different methods to incorporate research training during residency are suggested, however, long-term impact is not studied well. This study reports development of a research curriculum with milestones, a long-term outcome and sustainability, and its impact on the overall departmental research culture. Methods: The research curriculum that included a research seminar for resident preparation, annual milestones, and structured research mentoring was implemented in our hybrid program in 2012. The research output for five-year period before and after the implementation was evaluated as peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and grant submissions. Further, secondary effects on faculty and medical student research was evaluated. Results: Following implementation, we observed a significant increase in the number of resident presentations (p \u3c 0.05) and higher trends for publications and grant submissions. Medical student research increased significantly in terms of both presentations and publications (p \u3c 0.05). Consequently, we observed a significant improvement in the overall department research productivity. Conclusions: Our resident research curriculum was associated with improved long-term research productivity. It allowed residents to work closely with faculty and medical students leading to more collaboration resulting in an enhanced scholarly environment