Background and Objectives. We have required residents in pediatrics at
the Cleveland Clinic Foundation to give research presentations since
1989; this article reviews our experience with this program. Additiona
lly, we sought to determine how many other accredited pediatric progra
ms in the United States also require this. Methods. Retrospective revi
ew of the Cleveland Clinic program; descriptive statistics of other Un
ited States residency programs, obtained by questionnaire. Results. Pe
diatric residents at the Cleveland Clinic have given 108 research pres
entations since 1989, and have developed 33 (30.5%) of them into manus
cripts or abstracts. We mailed questionnaires to 215 pediatric residen
cy program directors and received responses from 177 (82%). Of these,
48 (27%) indicated their programs had a research requirement; resident
s could present their findings in departmental meetings or submit an a
bstract or manuscript to a professional society or journal. Respondent
s cited several barriers to research: residents are too busy, there ar
e too few faculty members to mentor them, financial resources are limi
ted, and there is no residency review committee requirement. Conclusio
ns. Even though only approximately one fourth of the pediatric residen
cy programs in the United States require research, we feel it is worth
while experience. Despite barriers, residents can and do perform resea
rch and publish their findings.