What opportunities for publishing and presenting research should residents and fellows be aware of?

Alia Reid, Pharm.D.

PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Resident

Emory University Hospital

Atlanta, GA

In my former role as a residency program director and preceptor, residency candidates and current residents often asked me what opportunities for publishing and presenting research were available during training. If learners are asking this question, they have likely independently assessed the importance of these opportunities and have realized the importance of building up a career portfolio for future training and employment opportunities. When trainees publish and present research, they also advance their critical thinking skills, build research knowledge, foster drive for future research, develop time management and project management skills, increase teamwork navigation, seek networking and mentoring opportunities in research, increase their ability to mentor future learners, and fine-tune their writing skills.

Thankfully, many opportunities for publication exist for you as a resident or fellow. Certainly, there are many largely distributed medical journals that vary from broad scope to highly specialized. Working with mentors to find the right target for your project early in development is an important step. Of note, the peer-reviewed journal AJHP Residents Edition represents a new option for publishing your findings from residency research or rigorous quality improvement projects. INNOVATIONS in Pharmacy is a peer-reviewed, web-based journal that regularly publishes research conducted by student pharmacists, residents, and graduate students. If your research is focused on a facet clinical pharmacy practice, the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy could be an appropriate home for it. Institutional or regional pharmacy organization newsletters should not be overlooked as potential opportunities to present your findings in written format.

Regional residency research programs, state and national meetings, and virtual events (e.g., ACCP virtual posters) also provide the opportunity to present the results of your research via poster and podium presentations. Many national organizations, including Vizient/United HealthSystem Consortium, ACCP, and ASHP, have resident or fellow categories for research in progress or later submission deadlines.

If you desire to publish or present your work, seek out help. Find an experienced mentor to help guide you, and examine opportunities for disseminating your research. Additional chances to engage in the publication process may include collaborations in writing review articles or book chapters; many preceptors are eager to help foster writing skills and work together with you on these tasks.

Without a doubt, sharing knowledge from a project through publication or presentation of results is an important part of advancing science and one that we as clinical pharmacists should take seriously. However, even if a project is not published or presented, the experience, which requires discipline for completing a project, recognizing resources, and developing research and scholarship skills, is an important part of your training.

Eli N. Deal, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS

Barnes-Jewish Hospital

St. Louis, Missouri