Costs Associated With Residency Training.

Texas needs more physicians to care for a rapidly growing population, and new physicians who complete medical training in Texas are likely to remain in the state to practice. The expansion of existing Texas medical schools, along with the development of new schools, has created a need for a corresponding increase in residency and fellowship (graduate medical education, or GME) positions in Texas, and the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions have funded expanded GME support. While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pays for the majority of GME positions nationally, those numbers were capped in 1997. Growing populations, particularly in the southern states, have led many institutions--when funds are available--to increase GME positions "over the cap." Texas physicians need to be aware of costs associated with development of accredited GME positions, as well as other measures being taken to support the growth of the physician workforce in the state.

Teaching Lifelong Research Skills in Residency: Implementation and Outcome of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Course.

BACKGROUND: There is rising concern that fundamental scientific principles critical to lifelong learning and scientific literacy are not sufficiently addressed during residency. OBJECTIVE: We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a systematic review and meta-analysis course designed to improve residents' research literacy. INTERVENTION: We developed and implemented a novel, interactive, web-enhanced course for third-year psychiatry residents to provide the theoretical and methodological tools for conducting and reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The course is based on Bloom's learning model, and established criteria for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Eight sequential learning objectives were linked to 8 well-specified assignments, with the objectives designed to build on one another and lead to the creation of a scientific manuscript. RESULTS: From 2010-2014, 54 third-year psychiatry residents (19 unique groups) successfully completed the course as part of a graduation requirement. The majority rated the course as being good or very good, and participants reported a statistically significant increase in their confidence to conduct systematic reviews (χ(2) = 23.3, P < .05) and meta-analyses (Fisher exact test, P < .05). Estimated total dedicated resident and faculty time over a period of 36 weeks was 36 to 72 hours and 60 hours, respectively. Residents' academic productivity included 11 conference presentations and 4 peer-reviewed published manuscripts, with 2 residents who were awarded honors for their projects. CONCLUSIONS: A formal training course in systematic reviews and meta-analyses offers a valuable learning experience, which enhances residents' research skills and academic productivity in a feasible and sustainable approach.

Quantifying publication scholarly activity of psychiatry residency training directors.

OBJECTIVE: The authors quantify the number of PubMed-indexed publications by psychiatry program directors during a 5-year observation period. METHODS: The authors obtained the names of general adult, child and adolescent, and geriatric psychiatry program directors from the ACGME website and entered them into a PubMed.gov database search. Then, they counted the number of indexed publications from July 2008 to June 2013 and categorized them by academic year. RESULTS: The median number of publications was one for adult psychiatry program directors (n=184), one for child and adolescent directors (n=121), and three for geriatric psychiatry directors (n=58). CONCLUSIONS: The number of PubMed-indexed publications for program directors of general adult, child and adolescent, and geriatric psychiatry residencies is relatively low. Further research is needed to identify and examine the challenges facing program directors that may limit their ability to participate in this form of scholarly activity.