Research Electives

 

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

  1. Identify research supervisor and project.
  2. Complete Research Elective Request Form with input from supervisor, and submit to Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity (Dr. Erin Michalak).
  3. Director of Research and Scholarly Activity approves elective.
  4. At completion of elective, the supervisor will complete the Research ITER.

Half-Day (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4) Electives

  1. Identify research supervisor and project.
  2. Complete Research Elective Request Form with input from supervisor, and submit to Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity (Dr. Erin Michalak).
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

  1. Identify research supervisor and project.
  2. Notify Associate Program Director, Scholarly Activity (Dr. Erin Michalak) for approval.
  3. Complete Research Elective Request Form with input from supervisor.
  4. Director of Research and Scholarly Activity approves elective and notifies PGE Program Director.
  5. At completion of elective, the supervisor will complete the Research ITER.