Research is central to ChristianaCare’s Emergency Medicine/Family Medicine residency. During your residency, you will sharpen your skills as a researcher and deepen your ability to critically review published studies. All EM/FM residents are required to complete a scholarly project during their residency with the goal of presenting their work on a national level. This requirement is easily fulfilled with the multitude of ongoing research and scholarly activities available or through a novel project or idea. Some notable activities and publications include EMRA Antibiotic and Urgent Care Guides, Rapid Response Team training, EKG curriculum for primary care, to name a few.
Research FAQ
Do all EM residents do a scholarly project?
Yes. This is a requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Residency Review Committee (RRC) for all EM residents.
At ChristianaCare, EM-FM residents have the opportunity to choose an areas of interest and perform scholarly activity. There are a number of pathways for completing the scholarly activity requirements, and residents have flexibility in the type and content of scholarly pursuits to suit their academic interests and career goals. Some residents choose a more traditional research driven activity which involves designing a research protocol with faculty mentorship. Residents may also choose to participate in performance improvement activities and / or teaching activities to fulfill their scholarly activity requirement.
Residents present their project during their senior year at one of our weekly educational conferences, usually preceding their presentations at regional or national meetings.
How much support will I have to get my scholarly activity done?
From day one you are assigned a faculty research mentor. This experienced faculty member meets with you at least twice yearly to go over your goals, ideas and progress. You also have access to five full-time EM research nurses who are able to assist you with planning your project, submitting to the IRB, and collecting data. Additionally, ChristianaCare librarians and statisticians are available to assist with literature searches and data analysis, and we have access to tools to assist with writing your abstracts and manuscripts.
What are the major areas of research interest at ChristianaCare?
Between the EM and FM Departments, the research interests are broad. Our combined residents have the flexibility to choose an area of interest and passion to them. Residents can create new projects or join projects in progress. Examples of projects and research initiatives residents have participated in, include the following:
- Sepsis
- stroke care
- antibiotic stewardship
- access to care
- handoffs/transitions of care
- super-utilizers
- Cancer screening
- Geriatrics
- Public health
- Wellness
- Global Health
We work collaboratively with other ChristianaCare departments such as Trauma, Intensive Care, Neurology, and Cardiology, as well as other academic EM programs regionally and around the country. The Family Medicine Department has extensive involvement in community and State level initiatives open to resident participation.
How successful are residents at getting their projects accepted at national meetings?
Our residents routinely present abstracts at multiple national conferences, including ACEP, SAEM, AAEM, CORD, and NAEMSP. Our research department works closely with residents in both the abstract and poster preparation to optimize the chances of acceptance and to represent our program at the national level.
For more information, contact Debbie Marco RN, manager of EM Research, at 302-733-4130, dmarco@christianacare.org.