Research requirements enable you to gain experience:
- in research methods
- in interpretation of research literature
- in participation in research at some stage of your career
- to develop quality improvement skills
Submission of a research project provides:
- evidence of the skills of considering and defining research problems
- the systematic acquisition, analysis, synthesis and interpretation of data
- effective written communication
Requirement
Trainees commencing training in 2017 onwards:
One satisfactory Advanced Training Research Project is to be submitted over the course of training, due by the annual submission date of 15 September in any year before the end of Advanced Training.
Trainees who commenced training before 2017
You have the option of completing any one of the following requirements:
- 1 satisfactory Advanced Training Research Project, due by the annual submission date of 15 September in any year before the end of Advanced Training; or
- 1 Clinical Research Project and 2 article critiques over the course of training, due by 15 September in your penultimate year; or
- 2 satisfactory Research Projects: one project is to be assessed as satisfactory by the end of your second year of training; the second project is to be assessed as satisfactory by the end of your third year of training, due by 15 September
Advanced Training Research Project
The Advanced Training Research Project must be marked as satisfactory prior to admission to Fellowship. It is recommended that you submit your research project by 15 September in the penultimate year of training to allow time for marking and resubmission of research projects initially marked 'Resubmit'.
More information
Clinical Research Project and Article Critiques
After accessing and reading critical appraisal guidelines, you are required to evaluate two published research articles and write 600-word reports describing the methodology and results for each one. Trainees will also be required to design and implement a limited clinical research project.
The final presentation of the project should be in a format suitable for journal publication and be no longer than 3000 words.
Trainees should contact the Faculty at Rehab@racp.edu.au to apply and request the course outline.
Rehabilitation Medicine Research Projects
Each project will be assessed by two independent reviewers. One project should be submitted and assessed as satisfactory by the end of the second year of training in order to progress to the third year of training.
Preparation of a project requires the trainee to demonstrate an understanding of research methodology, in order to have a better understanding of the type of scientific material that they will be exposed to during their practice as physicians. Projects require the trainee to demonstrate an ability to communicate original thought in an articulate and succinct manner.
The projects are a major requirement for physician training, and should be of an appropriate standard. The projects are assessed upon scientific merit, relevance to the field of rehabilitation medicine, interpretation of the material, and the relevance of the literature review to the case study or research being presented. Projects are also assessed on their unique and honest intellectual content. The ability to accurately paraphrase the literature is not adequate.
Excellent summaries of the literature are widely available (e.g. UpToDate). Work that is of publishable standard is usually satisfactory, whereas a project that is scientifically sound but could have been undertaken by a medical student or junior doctor is not.
The project should usually be presented in a standard scientific format. Care should be taken with the presentation including spelling and grammar. PowerPoint and other electronic formats are not acceptable, although a project discussing an online production or PowerPoint presentation may be acceptable. Trainees should seek advice from the Convenor of External Training Module 3 before embarking on such a project.
It is a requirement that the project must be prepared specifically for this task. The same work may not have been used for any other purpose such as a project for another training program. A thesis or project prepared for a higher qualification such as a Doctorate or Masters may not be submitted as a project, although a reformatted project based on the work undertaken during these studies may be.
References must be presented in a consistent format, and must be sufficiently detailed to enable the assessor to check them, if desired. Three hardcopies of the project should be submitted.
Role of the supervisor
The role of the supervisor is to assist the trainee with the selection of the project and project design, and to guide the trainee in completion of the project. The supervisor is not a joint author. The trainee and their project supervisor should meet early in the course of training to devise the projects that will be undertaken.
Once the projects are decided, the supervisor should meet with the trainee on a regular basis to ensure that the project is progressing and conforms to the guidelines. The supervisor should read the final project, and certify that the project is ready for submission. Trainees must allow adequate time for their supervisor to read and provide feedback prior to the submission date.
In certain cases, the trainee’s project supervisor may be different from their term supervisor. Trainees should exercise particular caution in this instance, and ensure that the term supervisor remains informed of their progress in their project work.
Trainee projects already published in an acceptable peer-reviewed journal will usually be considered ‘satisfactory’ without further review. Exceptions may arise if the trainee’s contribution, or relevance of the project to rehabilitation medicine, is uncertain.
All other projects will be marked independently by two markers. If there are not two ‘satisfactory’ ratings, the project will be referred to the Convenor of External Training for Module 3, who may resolve to pass or fail the project, seek a third review, or invite submission of a revised project.
Acceptable Rehabilitation Medicine project formats
- The written piece should have direct relevance to the practice of rehabilitation medicine, and each trainee should aim to present and/or publish at least one research project in an appropriate forum during the course of Advanced Training. A presentation, for example, might be made to the AFRM’s Annual Scientific Meeting.
- Projects should be novel and incorporate original thought. Trainees will sometimes be working as part of a larger group or project; however, trainees are required to make an original contribution to the planning or interpretation of their study.
- Projects should be presented to a standard suitable for publication and should adhere to usual norms for scientific writing. Projects should provide defined aims, clearly articulated objectives and prospectively defined methodology. The conclusions should relate to the aims. Discussion should place the new work in the context of the published literature. In addition, projects should be written in sound English and be free of grammatical and typographical errors. A standard, consistent method of citing the literature should be used.
Projects can take any of the following formats:
- Original scholarship*
Results of original work done by a trainee alone or as part of a team. Indication of a trainee’s involvement will need to be made clear in the latter case. Sample length: 3000 words (indicative only)
- Literature review
Comprehensive review of a topic including search strategy used. Sample length: 3000–5000 words (indicative only)
Example: M. V. Morton and P. Wehman; Psychosocial and emotional sequelae of individuals with traumatic brain injury: a literature review and recommendations. Brain Injury, 1995, Vol. 9, No. 1, pages 81-92.
- Case report and review
Review of an interesting case and brief literature review. Case reports should be of publishable standard, i.e. provide novel knowledge or insights. Only one case report should be submitted during the course of Advanced Training. Sample length: 2000–3000 words (indicative only)
Example: Elizabeth S. Bensen MD, Kenneth M. Jaffe MD, Phillip I. Tarr MD; Acute gastric dilatation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a case report and review of the literature. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Volume 77, Issue 5, May 1996, pages 512-514.
- Research proposal
A completed proposal for research including background, literature review, estimated cost, and how ethics approval will be sought. Sample length: 2000 words (indicative only).
- Presentation
Summary of oral or poster presentation made to the Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM) Annual Scientific Meeting, including abstract. PowerPoint presentations will not be accepted. Projects should be written in a style suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Published examples, accessible in the public domain, are provided. Published projects are of a high standard and thus are not intended to indicate the ‘satisfactory’ standard. Sample length: 2000 words (indicative only).
- Audit or quality assurance
Audits should generally be substantial and lead to recommendations for clinical care or quality improvement. Sample length: 2000 words (indicative only).
* Includes scholarly work, such as original research and educational projects, written in IMRD (introduction, methods, results, discussion) format.
Only one case report should be submitted during the course of Advanced Training.
PowerPoint presentations will not be accepted. Projects should be written in a style suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Published examples, accessible in the public domain, are provided. Published projects are of a high standard and thus are not intended to indicate the ‘satisfactory’ standard.
Note: Content of all external training modules is examinable in the Fellowship examinations. You are responsible for submitting your modules as early as possible to avoid delaying admission to Fellowship.