Research & Conferences

Resident Research Committee

The objectives of the Resident Research Committee are to encourage and provide resources adn support towards resident research and academic activity; provide guidelines for resident research and research awards; and to educate residents on research and critical appraisal.

For a list of committee members, click here.

Research Funding and Awards

There are a variety of awards available to pediatric residents. For an overview of these awards, please click here. Pediatric Residents are strongly encouraged to apply for the McMaster Resident Research Awards to support research activity, and the St. Louis Family Fund for funding in support of travel to attend the annual Society of Pediatric Research meeting.

Research Electives

Research electives are available to provide the residents with "protected" research time.  Electives can either be arranged on a “horizontal” or "block" basis.  Horizontal electives can be taken as a half day per week during non-service rotations and block electives on a one or two month basis in place of clinical elective time. All residents interested in pursuing a research elective must formally apply for these electives. Written requests must be submitted and approved by the program director as well as the research supervisor. Goals and objectives for the elective must be outlined in agreement with the research supervisor, and the clinical rotation supervisor (ERP) if considering a horizontal elective. Goals and objectives for the elective must be outlined in agreement with the research supervisor. It is the responsibility of the research supervisor to ensure adequate support and education is provided during the elective, and that appropriate progress in their research has been made. As for any elective, a rotation evaluation form must be completed at the end of the elective.

 

Educational and Research Resources

Andrea McLellan

School of Medicine Liason

Head of Collections and Technical Services

Health Sciences Library, HSC 2B16

McMaster University

Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24169

mclell@mcmaster.ca

Research resources:

A list of faculty members and their research interests is listed on this website. Please feel free to contact these individuals if there is an area of research that you are interested in.

http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/qa/pediatrics_research/

faculty_list.html

AAP Resident Research Grant and Scholarship Programs

The American Academy of Pediatrics Resident Scholarship Program is specifically designed to help allay financial difficulties for residents in good academic standing. The Academy grants annually a number of scholarships varying from $1,000 to $5,000.

http://www.aap.org/sections/ypn/r/funding_

awards/res_scholarships.html

In an effort to enhance the development of research skills among physicians in training, the American Academy of Pediatrics administers the Resident Research Grant Program. Grant applications will require a statement of purpose, a research plan, and a proposed budget. Applications must also identify a project advisor who has an appropriate research background. Grants of up to $2,000 will be available.

http://www.aap.org/sections/ypn/r/funding_

awards/research_grants.html

Applications for both programs must be submitted by February 28, 2010

McMaster Clinician Investigator Program

Health Research Methodology (HRM) Program

 

Conferences for Residents

Upcoming Conferences

April 21, 2010

Practical Pediatrics for the Pediatrician
Hamilton Golf & Country Club

Conference/Travel Policy:

  • A resident is entitled to $3,000 conference/travel funding over three years of core training in the program.  Funding is pro-rated.  A resident in fourth year is entitled to an additional $1,000 funding.  There is no carryover of funds from core years to fourth year.  Residents are encouraged to use funding for CME throughout training.  However, if a resident would like to accumulate funding for a major conference, justification must be provided to the program director for approval.  Funding will be withheld if a resident does not acquire the required mandatory group learning activity (MGLA) points
  • $1,000 of funding over residency training can be used for applicable courses.
  • $1,000 additional funding is available once over residency training for research presentations at conferences upon approval by the program director to cover poster and travel expense
  • Conferences are to be approved by the director or delegate prior to attending the conference
  • Original receipts (photocopies and visa receipts are not accepted) of expenses are to be submitted to the program within a month upon return.  Tickets, boarding passes and confirmation of conference attendance are required.  
  • It is expected that a resident present a formal round to pediatric residents following the conference
  • Funding is subject to change depending on ongoing funding availability.

Invited Presentations

Residents are strongly encouraged to present their work at scientific meetings in the form of poster or oral presentations. In the event that a resident's conference/travel costs exceed the travel awards policy as listed above, the residency program will consider supporting these costs on an ad hoc basis, under the same guidelines. These requests for additional funds should be submitted to the program director and research committee.

Research Opportunities

This Research Day is held annually, typically in early June. This is a forum to celebrate the work of trainees at various levels who are involved with child health research (e.g. medical students, graduate and postgraduate students, residents and fellows). Submissions for oral and/ or poster presentations should be submitted to Dr. Stephanie Atkinson's office by the April 30th deadline. Although this Research Day is open to all applicants, it is an expectations for all 3rd year residents to present their projects at this venue. In addition, residents whose projects have been funded through the resident research award are also expected to present.This can be work in progress, a research protocol or a completed project. There will be a prize awarded to the best presentation for each category of trainee. Abstracts for presenters are published in this meeting's booklet, and can therefore be listed as a publication on your CV. The best presentation in each category (resident, undergraduate and medical student/postgraduate) will be awarded.

Previous award winners

MCH/Resident Research Day:

2010 Dr. Amita Raha

2009 Dr. Meera Rayar

2008 Dr. Julia Morinis (oral), Dr. Linda Louvre (poster)

2007 Dr. Chitayat and Dr.Wise (poster) Dr. Ken Liew (oral)

Resident Research Grant awardees:

2010: no applicants

2009: Dr. Zainab Abdulraham

2008: Dr. Irene Fung

2007: Dr. Janice Tijssen

  • The McMaster Clinician Investigator Program is a Royal College accredited program that facilitates research training by physicians.
  • Work-in-Progress (WIP) Sessions:

    These rounds occur on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month, and are chaired by Dr. Karen Choong where seasoned and novice researchers share their work, ideas and challenges during the course of their research. Researchers, faculty members and trainees with any level of research experience are welcome to present and attend. Every other month is dedicated to resident presentations. It is mandatory for each 2nd year resident to present their research proposal at this meeting. However, all residents are welcome and encouraged to present at these sessions. It is an expectation that all residents attend these rounds. Postgrad will be provided with available dates for resident WIP presentations well in advance so that residents have an opportunity to “self-schedule”. It will be the residents’ responsibility, in conjunction with Postgrad, to ensure that these assigned dates are covered. The WIP schedule is made several months in advance, hence once your date has been allocated, it will be your responsibility to find a switch should you not be able to make your scheduled session. Maureen Jakab will send out reminders for WIP rounds in advance, and will be approaching you for your topic typically the week prior to your rounds. Please ensure that your research supervisor is aware of your presentation date, as it is important that he or she be present to support your presentation.

Commonly asked Questions for Residents:

What are WIP rounds? The objective of WIP rounds is to provide a low-key, non-intimidating and educational forum for trainees, faculty members and research personnel, where one can learn from each other about research methodology, research experience and challenges, such that ideas can be generated and. The objective of these rounds is for the presenter to share their research, and receive feedback from peers as well as seasoned researchers on questions and challenges that they may be encountering during their current research. Presentations at these rounds can be included in your CV. As resident projects are typically mentored by a research supervisor, please view these rounds as a combined presentation, on behalf of your research team. You should discuss the objectives of your rounds with your research supervisor in advance, and ensure that they are available to attend your presentation.

What should I present? Research in progress at any stage, from forming a research question, to study design and execution, data analysis and manuscript preparation. Each presenter should present an initial slide outlining a) your objectives, b) 3 questions that you would like input on in the session, and c) 2 methodological teaching points that you learnt during your process of your project that would be helpful to your colleagues. The presentation should be focused and no longer than 20 minutes. This will give the presenter(s) plenty of opportunity and time for discussion and feedback.

What shouldn’t I present: Fully completed research, for which you don’t have any questions for the audience. The focus of the discussion should NOT be focused

 

  • Resident Research Database:

Username: macpedsresearch@gmail.com

Password: (please ask research committee)

This database contains current and past resident's scholarly activity, and is a great resource for resident's interests and achievements. Please forward your projects, presentations and publications to the resident representative of the Research Committee or the purposes of updating this database.

  • The Research section of the Department of Pediatrics website lists faculty members and their areas of research interest. Please feel free to contact these individuals if there is an area of research that you are interested in.
  • Critical Appraisal Course

The critical appraisal is organized by the research committee and is run every two years. The objectives of the course are to a) equip the residents with the ability to critically appraise scientific articles, and b) preparation for critical appraisal questions that arise in their Royal College exams.