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Resident Coordinators: Dr. Sang-Woo Pak, Dr. Lidie Lajoie
Faculty Advisors: Dr. John Kral, Dr. Patricia O'neill

Participants: All residents in the SUNY Downstate general surgery program are encouraged to participate.
Residents and students involved in basic science and with an interest in surgery are also welcome.

Goals and Objectives:
» Gain experience in the generation of research ideas based on clinical work
» Enhance their ability to search and critically evaluate scientific literature
» Improve familiarity with and use of scientific and statistical methods
» Learn the process of carrying out a successful research project
» Hone verbal and written communication skills
» Be encouraged to fit research work into short stretches of time in busy schedules

Participants should come to meetings prepared to present specific aspects of their work and participate in critically evaluating the work of their fellow residents. It is expected that at the end of the year each resident will have completed at least one research project and will have submitted their work for publication or presentation.

Format: The DREAM Team meets for one hour on the THIRD THURSDAY of each month. The weekly discussion topic is dedicated to an aspect of the research process. The Progress Report portion of the meeting provides an opportunity for residents to discuss the progress of the research project(s) they are currently involved in, brainstorm solutions for research barriers, interpret data, edit each other's work, and help each other meet deadlines.

Date Discussion Topic Suggested Reading Progress Report
August 18 Goals & Objectives, Time management, project selection DREAM Team overview Faculty Project List Identify mentor and project by next meeting
September 15 Developing research question, literature review, PubMed & other searches Hanson BP. Designing, conducting and reporting clinical research. A step by step approach. Injury (2006) 37, 583-594. Complete literature review and email to group by next meeting
October 20 Research design, methods, creating instruments Paradis C. Bias in Surgical Research. Ann Surg (2008) 248, 180-188. Complete Human Subjects Certification online by next meeting
November 17 Writing a research proposals, IRB procedures Neff MJ. Institutional Review Board Consideration of Chart Reviews, Case Reports, and Observational Studies. Resp Care (2008) 53, 1350-3.
Schwenzer KJ. Practical Tips for Working Effectively with your Institutional Review Board. Resp Care (2008) 53, 1354-61
Complete research proposal and email to group by next meeting
December 15 Data collection, coding, and management in Excel Strasak AM et al. Statistical errors in medical research- a review of common pitfalls. Swiss Med Wkly (2007) 137, 44-9. IRB submission by next meeting
January 19 Statistical software & analysis with SPSS Peh NKH. Presenting the Statistical Results. Singapore Med J (2009) 50, 11-3. Midyear progress report emailed to group by next meeting
February 16 Venues for presenting and/or publishing your work Visit Journal & Society websites Bring preliminary results for next meeting
March 15 Data analysis and interpretation Stengel D et al. Graphical Data Presentation. Injury (2008) 39, 659-65. Bring results/ conclusions to next meeting
April 19 Medical writing, abstract preparation Johnson TM. Tips on how to write a paper. J Am Acad Dermatol (2008) 59, 1064-9. Complete abstract and email to group by next meeting
May 17 Manuscript preparation and poster presentation Davidson AJ & Carlin JB. What a reviewer wants. Ped Anes (2008) 18, 1149-56. Bring poster to next meeting
June 21 Oral presentation skills, creating powerpoint presentations Edwards MJ et al. Oral Presentations for Surgical Meetings. J Surg Res (1997) 68, 87-90. Bring Powerpoint presentation to next meeting