Fellowship Research

Research training and productivity are integral parts of the fellowship program. With the institution of the 3 year training program in Pediatric Cardiology, the American Board of Pediatrics produced a paper entitled "Principles Regarding the Assessment of Research Competence", which states that "a requirement for admission to subspecialty examinations should be evidence of productive research participation". In a subsequent document entitled "Principles Regarding the Assessment of Meaningful Accomplishment in Research" from December of 1994, they list a series of items which they consider such evidence, and also state that a curriculum which includes instruction in related basic sciences, research design, biostatistics and epidemiology must be available. To achieve these goals, a minimum of one year of the three basic years of training has been assigned to research activities, although we recognize that adequate training in research may require two to three year additional years.

We believe that the main strength of our training program is that we have a most varied and intensive research training, which is closely integrated with the clinical program, based upon the active research commitments of our faculty and our affiliation with the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI). Through these resources, there has been an excellent didactic program in biostatistics, computers, biomathematics, instrumentation, science writing and science lecturing, and research exposure is available in whole animal (fetal, newborn, and adult) physiology, cellular and molecular biology, and imaging techniques. In order to make full use of these resources, however, and to develop a strong interest and ability in academic research, it is necessary to be involved in research training and exposure throughout the 3 years of training, although it is understood that research commitments will not be divided equally among the 3 years. Moreover, many fellows will add an additional year or years to their fellowship to acquire adequate skills to develop an independent research program upon completion of the fellowship.

It is impossible to present a global research plan or curriculum. In accordance with the guiding principles of the fellowship program, each fellow will devise an approach to creating and fulfilling an individual research plan with his/her advisor. The instruction curriculum will include courses from the Cardiovascular Research Institute (biostatistics, science writing and lecturing, and a seminar course in molecular biology) and from other ORU's and the GME office of the School of Medicine (including courses in statistics, ethics, and specialized research training seminars).