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ENHANCE Project

ENHANCE Project: Enhancing the Research Development of Medical Specialty Trainees

It is essential that all medical specialist trainees are able to identify and apply important research findings when caring for patients. Some may also participate in conducting research, and a few will become research leaders. While research and evidence-based practice competencies are incorporated into most speciality training program curricula, for some time there has been concern that the programs do not provide the best environments to develop these skills adequately. For instance, analysis of Specialist Medical Colleges research curricula and their training program selection criteria both indicate an excessive reliance on leading research projects rather than identification and promotion of core research competencies.

The ENHANCE Project aims to explore and improve the research expectations and training set by Specialist Medical Colleges.

Broadly, we aim to:

  1. Understand what is happening in practice; namely the quality of trainee experience and the quality of the research itself; and
  2. Develop a core research curriculum, including recommended practice pedagogies, for doctors undertaking their clinical specialist training.

We are currently working collaboratively with 11 principal Australian and New Zealand Specialty training colleges, several national and international universities, and former Australian Medical Council members. We welcome additional collaborators to reach out to us.

 

Project lead

Dr Paulina Stehlik

Paulie is a trained pharmacist and data scientist with expertise in teaching, evidence-based practice, and its application to common clinical problems.  

Researcher Profile

Current ENHANCE Projects under way

Publications

  1. P. Stehlik, C. Noble, C. Brandenburg, P. Fawzy, I. Narouz, D. Henry and P. Glasziou, How Do Trainee Doctors Learn About Research? Content Analysis of Australian Specialist Colleges’ Intended Research Curricula 2020. BMJ Open. 10 (3) e034962;10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034962
  2. P. Stehlik, D. Henry and P. Glasziou, Specialist College Training: A Potential Source of Research Wastage 2020. The BMJ Opinion https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2020/07/14/specialist-college-training-a-potential-source-of-research-wastage/
  3. Withers, C., Noble, C., Brandenburg, C., Glasziou, P.P. and Stehlik, P., Selection criteria for Australian and New Zealand medical specialist training programs: another under-recognised driver of research waste. 2021 Med J Aust. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.51250

ENHANCE Project's Open Science page