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Organized by the Collaborative Research Unit, Department of Medicine.
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Faculty Development Program in:
Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Research, 2005-2006
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Purpose
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The purpose of this program is to develop the research and epidemiologic skills of a cadre of physicians who can then collaborate on efforts to improve the health of their patients.
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Organization
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The program requires a yearlong commitment to weekly half-day meetings that begin in September. There are two major components: clinical epidemiology and a collaborative research project. Topics in medical informatics and health policy and evaluation are interwoven within the program. The research project, however, is the program's backbone.
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Clinical Epidemiology
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The goals of this component are to enable participants to conduct clinical research studies using sound scientific methods and to promote an active and innovative approach to clinical decision making. Clinical epidemiology deals with how to collect, analyze, and interpret clinically important information so that errors due to chance and bias are minimized. As such, it is a basic science of clinical medicine.
Participants will also be introduced to important methods within the health social sciences, including scale development, qualitative research methods, and techniques for measuring cultural, social, and structural factors in health and disease.
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Collaborative Research Project
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Participants will learn the skills necessary to organize and contribute to collaborative research. The long-term objective is for these physicians to routinely participate in, and perhaps lead, collaborative research efforts in the future. More importantly, the program will strive to engender a vision of collaborative research as a feasible, productive, and rewarding aspect of each participant's professional responsibility.
The research topic will address a common and clinically important problem identified by the participants. This allows them to build on the strengths they bring to the program-their experience and expertise as clinicians and teachers within their institution. Working as a group, they will then design the research protocol, oversee the study's implementation, perform most of the data analysis, and publish the study results. The study will take place within the Cook County health care system. The timetable will be established so that the study will be completed by the end of the program (although presenting and publishing the results will likely take place soon thereafter).
Some cohorts might develop and submit a grant application for additional financial support from local, state, or federal funding agencies or foundations. The process of applying for grant support is valuable in several respects. First, it requires that research questions, methods, and analysis plans be stated clearly and explicitly at a very early stage. Second, it provides experience in the complexities of gaining institutional approval for a research project. Third, it provides a mechanism for receiving critical feedback about the research plans from peers and experts with different perspectives.
The collaborative research project will be supported by the Department of Medicine's Collaborative Research Unit. This Unit will provide the necessary research support, including research assistants, data entry, and statistical consultation.
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Health Policy and Evaluation
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The purpose of having a few sessions devoted to health policy and evaluation is to provide participants with a broader perspective on the organization and management of medical care. Most physicians are immersed in individual patient care and one-on-one or small-group teaching. At the same time, many physicians are given the added responsibility of managing or supervising clinical activities within the hospital or in the community. They may lack the broader perspective necessary for evaluating the needs of the populations they serve and the directions their clinical organizations should take.
Topics that might be addressed within the program include clinical decision analysis, cost effectiveness, cost containment strategies, practice guidelines, pro-gram evaluation, and the evaluation and improvement of health care quality.
It is expected that results of the collaborative research project will be translated into an action plan, which, in turn, will lead to institutional changes that will benefit patients. Thus, a goal of the sessions on health policy and evaluation is to facilitate the transfer of research findings into action.
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Medical Informatics
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Information processing skills and computer literacy are critically important to academic physicians in each aspect of their professional lives-clinical care, administration, research, and teaching. Through hands-on instruction, participants will gain practical skills in the use of databases, statistical analysis, information systems, and literature searching. For interested groups, other topics might include clinical decision support tools, expert systems, and professional productivity tools.
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Participation
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Open to attending physicians from all Divisions within the Department of Medicine. If space is available, faculty from other departments at Cook County and Rush are encouraged to participate.
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Appropriate for physicians with interests in clinical or community-based research involving community health centers, outpatient clinics, medical teaching, or hospital-based care.
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Participants meet weekly from October through May, on Tuesday from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.
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There will be 10 to 15 participants each year.
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Participants must recognize that the program is demanding. A reduction in other responsibilities will be necessary. A discussion of the program's demands with former participants will allow more realistic planning.
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Application
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- Currently we are not accepting applications.
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Deadline for applications is April 25th.
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Inquiries about the program can be addressed to:
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