All of these other outpatient rotations have been chosen for the variety of experiences they bring as well as for the the outstanding knowledge and skill of the physicians in the clinics. A large amount of clinical research in medicine is performed on the Abbott Northwestern campus, particularly in the areas of cardiology, gastroenterology and oncology. Much research is also done in various surgical specialties and in radiology. Various NIH national cooperative trials take place at the hospital. All residents complete a scholarly project, usually during their G3 year, with the active support of the faculty and the institution.
Several residents have articles published in journals each year.
Elective time in the G2 and G3 years has often been used for scholarly projects, including the opportunity to go to another institution and participate in laboratory research. One of our strong curriculum elements is the Critical Appraisal curriculum which runs throughout the year as an accompaniment of our resident Journal Club. The content includes interpreting clinical research studies and understanding basic medical statistics, diagnostic tests, and decision making. This entire curriculum is now usually called evidence based medicine in many programs. Through this curriculum, residents develop skills needed the rest of their lives in medicine as well as the skills needed to complete their scholarly projects.