The purpose of the scholarly project is to provide residents with the opportunity to engage in a specific area of psychiatry of their interest. Through this project, residents will learn skills to apply toward research, clinical care, and their own development as a psychiatrist. While most residents already carry out some form of scholarly work during their residency, the formalization of this process will provide all residents with administrative support through mentoring, locating resources, and assistance with identifying their interests. The scholarly project will help personalize the experience of each resident in a longitudinal manner. As such, scholarly projects are defined broadly to allow for a diversity of interests. The residency program is committed to helping residents pursuing their individual interests. As a result, Wednesday afternoons for the PGY2, PGY3, and PGY4 classes are protected research time. Additionally, the program has designated faculty members to work directly with residents to facilitate generating a scholarly project. This can take the form of brainstorming about potential projects, getting names of potential mentors, to reviewing rough drafts of projects before graduation.

Requirements of the scholarly project

• A clearly identified project mentor (i.e. someone that the administration, resident, and mentor can all agree is the resident’s mentor).
• Residents will choose a project that will promote individual learning
• Work towards identifying a project or work on the project itself that is longitudinal in nature (i.e. not just a three month long course or commitment).
• Residents will provide regular updates to the research committee and their individual mentors with their progress (see schedule below).
• Residents will be expected to provide the research committee and their individual mentors with a plan of how they will be utilizing their protected time.
• By graduation, residents must produce a written abstract and presentation of their project. Many residents will eventually publish their work, or present it as a poster, though these are not requirements of the scholarly project.

Scholarly project timeline

PGY1

Residents identify potential mentors whose interests dovetail with their own & meet to discuss potential projects. 

PGY2

Residents work with a scholar project navigator if still trying to identify a mentor or potential topics of interest. By October, residents send a brief update on their progress to directors of the scholarly project program. It is expected that by Spring of this year, each resident will be able to summarize the scope of their project and the prelimary work for the directors.

PGY3

Residents work on projects during Wednesday (or equivalent) protected time. They submit regular updates to the scholarly project committee and mentor.

PGY4 (PGY3 for fast-tracking residents)

Residents continue to work on project during Wednesday (or equivalent) protected time. They submit written work and give presentations at grand rounds in the spring.