GW Clinical Research Fellowship

Sponsored by the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine, this specialized two‐year clinical research fellowship represents a unique opportunity for advanced professional training. This fellowship focuses on developing research skills including defining the research question, choosing and developing the study design, data acquisition methods, statistical analysis, and study presentation. Answering active clinical questions using research is a cornerstone of an academic emergency department, and it is crucial for the comprehensive training of residents. A research career is a lifelong process that at its conclusion leaves a body of work unique to your imagination and dedication and which will contribute to the better care of patients.

Prerequisites:

  • M.D. degree, D.O. degree, or foreign equivalent
  • Completion of an accredited residency or fellowship training program in emergency medicine, surgery, or critical care.

Timing:

Optimally, candidates would begin the fellowship in mid August. With the consent of the fellowship director, candidates may negotiate to begin their fellowship at other times during the calendar year. The fellowship period is 24 months.

Fellowship Goals:

The goals of the fellowship-training program are to provide each fellow with:

  1. A Master in Public Health degree (M.P.H.) with a special emphasis on epidemiology and biostatistics.
  2. Competency in the design of clinical research studies in general and clinical emergency department research studies in particular.
  3. Advanced skills in the critical appraisal of the medical literature.
  4. Conceptual understanding of procedures for performing most forms of statistical analysis for clinical research.
  5. Experience presenting posters and lecturing at scientific meetings.
  6. Experience writing results in scientific manuscript format.
  7. Participation in writing grant proposals for research funding.
  8. Methods to translate all the competencies into the fellow’s home setting.
  9. Experience actually performing at least one completed clinical research study.

Required Fellowship Activities:

  1. Weekly progress meetings with the fellowship director or designee.
  2. Attendance and satisfactory completion of all coursework leading to an M.P.H. degree.
  3. Participation in weekly research section meetings.
  4. Participation in weekly academic conferences.
  5. Participation in monthly joint fellowship conferences.
  6. Attendance at two national research meetings each year.

Mentorship

  • Direct mentorship will be crucial to a successful fellowship—regular, weekly one‐on-one sessions with the fellowship director is expected.
  • In addition, weekly research meetings involving committed and available faculty members will be scheduled. Attendees will include the fellowship director and project preceptor, but will also involve core research faculty. Topics will include developing research projects, grant development, IRB processing, ethical conduct of research, statistical analysis, and manuscript preparation.

Curriculum

  • Completion of an M.P.H. degree (biostatistics or epidemiology track) will provide a solid foundation in statistical analysis, epidemiology, and research methods. Care will be taken to provide context and applicability of the M.P.H. coursework.
  • The departmental Joint Fellowship Curriculum will assist in framing the faculty development aspects of the fellowship, including effectively teaching residents, finding funding sources, and longevity in an academic career. For the academic year 2010, there are nine fellows in the department (International Emergency Medicine, Ultrasound, Health Policy, Toxicology, and Emergency Medical Services & Disaster Medicine). This critical mass will allow the research fellow to interact with his peers, and benefit from a collegial atmosphere of study and research within the department.
  • Attendance in residency grand rounds and journal club will also be expected. The opportunity to lecture in an area of research interest will be considered.

Research Projects

  • The fellow will identify an ongoing research project from within the Department of Emergency Medicine, or will design and complete a new research project. The project must be suitable to satisfy the thesis requirement of the MPH.
  • In addition to a primary research project for the MPH, the fellow will also have the opportunity to participate in a research elective. 

Research Electives

The fellow will have the opportunity to work on the following specific research areas or others as approved by the fellowship director:

  • Trauma and Injury Prevention
  • Evidence‐Based Medicine
  • Research Associate Training Program and Medical Student Education
  • Medical Simulation and Educational Outcomes
  • ED Administration
  • Health Disparities
  • Infectious Diseases

Certificate of Completion

At the successful completion of the program, the fellow will be awarded a diploma from the Department of Emergency Medicine. 

Fellowship Director:

Andrew C. Meltzer, M.D., M.S.
Associate Professor
Clinical Research Director
Department of Emergency Medicine
2120 L Street, NW, Suite 450
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 741-2952
Email: ameltzer@mfa.gwu.edu