Evidence-Based Medicine Training in United States-Based Physiatry Residency Programs.

ABSTRACT: Although the physiatric community increasingly embraces evidence-based medicine (EBM), the current state of EBM training for trainees in physiatry is unclear. The purposes of this article are to report the results of the Association of Academic Physiatrists' surveys of physiatry residency programs in the United States, to discuss the implications of their findings, and to better delineate the "baseline" upon which sound and clear recommendations for systematic EBM training can be made. The two Association of Academic Physiatrists surveys of US physiatry residency programs reveal that most survey respondents report that they include EBM training in their programs that covers the five recommended steps of EBM core competencies. However, although most respondents reported using traditional pedagogic methods of training such as journal club, very few reported that their EBM training used a structured and systematic approach. Future work is needed to support and facilitate physiatry residency programs interested in adopting structured EBM training curricula that include recommended EBM core competencies and the evaluation of their impact.

The Rehabilitation Research Experience for Medical Students: A 10-Year Review.

The aim of this project was to evaluate the 10-yr outcomes from the Rehabilitation Research Experience for Medical Students. A target benchmark was one high-quality output per student. Students were required to devise a research project and work full time with a mentor at an approved sponsor site for 8 wks. Longitudinal surveys were used to collect data about research outputs, match results, and decisions about whether to pursue academic careers. From 2008 to 2017, 73 (48%) of 153 applicants were awarded summer externships. Residency match results included the following: physical medicine and rehabilitation (45%), internal medicine (17%), emergency medicine (8%), orthopedic surgery (6%), neurology (6%), psychiatry (6%), OBGYN (6%), pediatrics (4%), and anesthesia (2%). The Rehabilitation Research Experience for Medical Students was successful in exceeding the target benchmark for quality scholarly output, which included 73 oral presentations at the Association of Academic Physiatrists meeting, 63 published and 20 in-review articles directly related to summer research, 5 book chapters, and 51 published and 20 in-review articles that were indirectly related to summer research. A total of 77% reported that the Rehabilitation Research Experience for Medical Students positively influenced their decision to pursue research in their future career, and 70% endorsed interest in becoming a clinician scientist.