Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry

General Psychiatry
- Scholarly Requirement

Background

The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires that all training programs meet standards in the area of scholarship. According to the guidelines, faculty are responsible for ensuring there is an environment of inquiry and scholarship. Scholarship is required of both faculty and residents. At West Virginia University scholarship is defined broadly and may include the scholarship of discovery, the scholarship of integration, the scholarship of teaching, and the scholarship of application. Guidance and technical support should be provided to residents by faculty.

The scholarship requirement of the psychiatry residency program is designed to meet the ACGME requirements and provide flexibility for residents to pursue special scholarly interests.

Goals

Upon completion of the program residents will:

• Understand the essential components of clinical research,
• Be able to critically evaluate the medical literature,
• Understand study design, and
• Appreciate scholarly writing.

Scholarship Requirement Procedures

The Residency Scholarship Subcommittee (RSS), a subcommittee of the Residency Training and Education Committee (RTEC) whose members are appointed by the program director, monitors the progress of each resident towards completion of the requirement. The RSS reports the status of each resident's progress to the RTEC, recommends remediation if a resident is not meeting acceptable standards, and periodically recommends modification of the residency scholarship requirement and its administration. The RTEC oversees the RSS, certifies that a resident has completed the residency scholarship requirement, acts on recommendations of the RSS, and develops remediation plans for a resident who does not satisfactorially meet the requirements. Residents communicate with the RSS regarding progress toward completion of scholarship requirements.

Core Requirements for Residents

Residents must complete four core scholarship requirements during the residency program. A residents must:

1. Complete the National Institute of Health Human Subjects online course within 12 months of beginning the residency. Residents shall notify the RSS once they have completed this requirement.

2. Attend and participate in two Scholarship Retreats conducted annually by the Department. Residents on psychiatry services (excluding residents with service responsibilities at the time of the retreat) will have the opportunity to attend and participate. Attendance and participation will be monitored by the RSS.

3. Produce and submit (or present) a scholarly product. The scholarly product may be a manuscript, poster, major presentation or equivalent. Acceptable products include an original clinical research report, a case report, a comprehensive literature review, high-quality poster of the resident's research or PowerPoint presentation of the resident's research. The submission may be a peer-reviewed journal, a national or regional conference or equivalent. Acceptable mediums for submission include peer-reviewed journals, nationally or regionally attended conferences, invited academic lectures or Grand Rounds (not within the Department), sponsored fellowship presentations (or moderations), or peer-reviewed internet-based sites. Commentary letters, editorials, radio or television interviews, local conferences, Departmental Grand Rounds, presentation outlines, report drafts, and non-peer-reviewed journals will usually not suffice as an acceptable product or submission. Residents need not be first author of written products but must significantly participate in the preparation of the product. Residents must provide evidence of both production and submission to the RSS at least 6 months before the end of their final year of training. Products and submissions will be reviewed by the RSS for acceptability.

4. Present two Departmental Grand Rounds at least 6 months before the end of their final year of training. Chief residents will coordinate the scheduling of resident presentations. Residents shall notify the RSS once they have completed this requirement.