Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, IL
Abstract Authors: James M. Walter, MD; Jaqueline M. Kruser, MD; Paul Reyfman, MD; Peter H. S. Sporn, MD
Program Director: Peter H. Sporn, MD
Type of Program: Pulmonary/Critical Care
BACKGROUND
Academic Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) fellowship programs are responsible for identifying and supporting trainees interested in research careers.1 To achieve this goal, programs must introduce clinical fellows to available research projects and mentors.2 This can be challenging given the time constraints of clinical rotations and required didactics during the first year of training. To respond to this challenge, we restructured our weekly PCCM “Grand Rounds” conference to better emphasize the connection between our division’s research and clinical activities and to highlight research opportunities for junior fellows.
METHODS
Three Wednesdays per month, clinical fellows and faculty in the Division of PCCM meet for “Grand Rounds.” Traditionally, this conference has consisted of two 30-minute clinically oriented presentations given by fellows. This year, fellows have been paired with a faculty member engaged in research and encouraged to collaborate on a theme for their presentations. Faculty members are asked to emphasize the clinical implications of their research while the fellow is encouraged to cover a related clinical topic and highlight opportunities for scientific discovery. As an example, a senior faculty member discussed his work investigating the link between alveolar macrophage heterogeneity and age-related lung disease. This was paired with a talk by a clinical fellow on emerging therapies for viral pneumonia in the elderly. To evaluate this change in format, fellows and faculty in the division were sent a 5-question, web-based satisfaction survey. All questions utilized a 5-point Likert scale.
RESULTS
Satisfaction scores after the first 8 conferences were obtained from 24 clinical fellows and faculty (5=best; mean ± SEM): “the paired lectures provide a valuable introduction to our division’s research activities,” 4.1 +/- 0.2; “the paired lectures help emphasize the clinical implications of our division’s basic and transitional research,” 3.5 +/- 0.2; “the paired lectures have been useful to identify potential research mentors and collaborators,” 3.4 +/- 0.2; “the paired lectures help emphasize areas of uncertainty in clinical medicine,” 3.8 +/- 0.2; “the paired lectures have been a valuable addition to the fellowship didactic curriculum,” 3.6 +/- 0.3.
DISCUSSION
Implementation of an integrated research and clinical conference at an academic PCCM program is feasible. Clinical fellows and faculty find that this format provides a valuable introduction to the division’s ongoing research activities. Further efforts are needed to emphasize the clinical implications of basic and translational research and to help fellows identify potential research mentors and projects early in training.
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