Residents interested in conducting a research project can request a research elective in any year of the residency. The options include a 1-month full-time elective (PGY-1), longitudinal half-day electives (PGY-2 to PGY-4), and variable-length, full- or part-time electives (PGY-5). For any questions, contact Dr. Erin Michalak, Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity.
Procedure to Request a Research Elective
Senior (PGY-5) Electives
- Identify research supervisor and project.
- Complete Research Elective Request Form with input from supervisor, and submit to Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity (Dr. Erin Michalak).
- Director of Research and Scholarly Activity approves elective.
- At completion of elective, the supervisor will complete the Research ITER.
Half-Day (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4) Electives
- Identify research supervisor and project.
- Complete Research Elective Request Form with input from supervisor, and submit to Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity (Dr. Erin Michalak).
- Director of Research and Scholarly Activity approves the elective (after checking with the PGE Program Director to ensure there are no clinical concerns for the resident.
- Negotiate half-day off-service request with clinical rotation supervisor (to be done every change in clinical rotation), to ensure there are no issues with the clinical rotation, e.g., for a subspecialty rotation, that the residency requirements are still met. If necessary, the Director of Research and Scholarly Activity can also discuss with the clinical supervisor.
- Every 6 months, or at completion of elective, the research supervisor will complete the Research ITER.
Note: In general, the half–day research elective time is for actually conducting a project, not just for time planning a project or for a literature review. The elective is for 6 months – after that, a new request must be made if the project is continuing. The half–day research elective is independent of elective time in other rotations – i.e., it is not “taken off” of elective time in PGY4 or PGY5.
1-month PGY-1 Electives
- Identify research supervisor and project.
- Notify Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity (Dr. Erin Michalak) for approval.
- Complete Research Elective Request Form with input from supervisor.
- Director of Research and Scholarly Activity approves elective and notifies PGE Program Director.
- At completion of elective, the supervisor will complete the Research ITER.