An indirect evaluation of medical residents’ research writing skills by research synopsis review

Abstract

Objective: To scrutinise the research proposals of medical residents for inadequacies in writing dissertation synopsis.

Method: The analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at the regional centre of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan, and comprised synopsis from January to June 2020 of postgraduate residents attached with different hospitals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.  For evaluation purposes, an institutional checklist was used that had 4 domains: general, epidemiological, statistical, and bibliographical review. These were assessed by a single epidemiologist. Data was analysed using SPSS 21.

Results: Of the 400 research proposals, 224(56%) were submitted by male and 176(44%) by female residents. Also, 208(52%) proposals were submitted by residents at public-sector hospitals, and 114(28.5%) by those at private-sector hospitals, while 78(19.5%) were from military hospitals. Significant association of errors was found with training institutions, speciality and duration of training (p<0.05). No gender difference was seen (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Majority of the research proposals lacked correct understanding of all the concepts related to research. Difference in research writing skills across specialties and training institutions may be related to the lack of availability of research assistance and good mentorship.

Key Words: EBM, Residents, CPSP, Research, EBP, Epidemiology, Statistics.