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ongoing projects or add to the concepts already being conducted in the laboratories.
A simple google search identifies a plethora of research summer programs ranging
for 4–6 weeks and even up to 1 year in length that are available for medical students.
Residents, when conducting benchtop research, often join the laboratory of a fac-
ulty member or use their facilities to conduct their research.
Case Reports
Case reports are easy ways for students and residents to delve into the foray of
scholarly activity. We advise our students to offer up their services in writing up a
case report any time they hear a physician say “well I have never seen that before”
or “that’s interesting!” Case reports are usually simple write-ups of 1–3 cases that
do not require institutional review board (IRB) involvement since they do not meet
the Common Rule [ 10 ] definition of research (a systemic investigation, including
research development, testing, and evaluation designed to develop or contribute to
generalizable knowledge). Of note, many publications are starting to require some
form of letter or acknowledgment from the IRB or the actual patient before publish-
ing the case report. Case reports are a great introduction because they have minimal
IRB involvement, still require a thorough literature review, initiate critical thinking
in requiring a thorough review of a patient chart in order to parse out the necessary
information, and provide exposure to the manuscript writing and submission
process.
Retrospective Chart Reviews
Retrospective chart reviews are great research projects for medical students and
residents alike. It is a widely used methodology that is applied in many healthcare-
based disciplines [ 11 , 12 ]. They involve critical thinking and planning along with
exposure to actual protocol development. Chart reviews most often provide expo-
sure to exempt and expedited IRB submissions and the intricacies of the consent
waiver process. They allow for the residents/students to identify their own questions
and, through the review process and subsequent analysis, obtain an answer. They
are also a great starting point to obtain preliminary data that can result in further
studies. Conducting chart reviews also provides exposure to the creation of data-
bases and the application of statistical analysis of the extracted data.
Quality Outcomes
In the late 1990s, quality outcomes studies became a hot topic and have evolved into
a necessary part of most medical practices and hospital administrations. The main
goal of outcomes studies is to enhance good outcomes and diminish bad ones.
Outcomes studies can be further categorized into the following categories: morbid-
ity, mortality, pain, functional status, satisfaction, and costs [ 13 ]. Quality outcomes
do not require IRB approval because their main goal is not to create generalizable
data but to acquire information that will impact and influence local practice.
However, a research determination should be submitted to the IRB to verify that the
quality outcomes study is indeed not human subject research. These determinations
D.I. Dynda et al.