Building a Trainee-led Research Community to Propel Academic Productivity in Health Services Research

Academic productivity is an increasingly important asset for trainees pursuing academic careers. Medical schools and graduate medical education programs offer structured research programs, but providing longitudinal and individualized health services research education remains challenging. Whereas in basic science research, members at multiple training levels support each other within a dedicated community (the laboratory), health services research projects frequently occur within individual faculty-trainee relationships. An optimal match of expertise, availability, and interest may be elusive for an individual mentor-mentee pair. We aimed to share our experience building Surgeons Writing about Trauma (SWAT), a trainee-led research community that propels academic productivity by facilitating peer collaboration and opportunities to transition into independent researchers. We highlight challenges of health services research for trainees, present how structured mentor ship and a peer community can address this challenge, and detail SWAT's operational structure to guide replication at peer institutions. (C) 2022 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Automated summary

Academic productivity is crucial for trainees pursuing academic careers, but providing longitudinal and individualized health services research education remains challenging. In this article, we share our experience building SWAT, a trainee-led research community that propels academic productivity by facilitating peer collaboration and opportunities to transition into independent researchers.