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DFM Resource Center

 Welcome to the Iowa DFM Resource Center!  We are excited to help support your journey into primary care scholarship and research.  Whether it be promotion potential, meeting specific requirements, or an interest in promoting discovery and knowledge, there are many great reasons to embark on your primary care scholarship journey!

The ACGME requires that both residents and faculty participate in scholarly activities.  Residents must complete two scholarly projects before residency graduation, one of which should be a quality improvement project. Faculty are expected to participate in creating and advancing an environment of scholarly activity for the program as a whole, the metrics of which are evaluated by the Review Committee every five years.

The Recipe A Practical Guide to Scholarly Activity, (Editors: Rutherford, Lennon, Seehusen), describes scholarship as “a component of practice-based learning” and suggests that the “motivation to pursue scholarly activity comes from an understanding that such pursuits enhance life-long learning, provide a greater understanding of the changing landscape of medicine, and enable an environment of curiosity in the practice of medicine.”  The Recipe is a tremendous resource that was created by military Family Physicians, and many of its chapters are referenced throughout the resources provided here.

The step-by-step processes outlined here are designed to help you initiate and complete a variety of evidence-based scholarly activities, whether your aim is to publish a case report, present a poster at a medical conference or develop an original research project. 

Getting Started

Start by selecting one of two pathways based on your own goals:

  • The “General Scholarly Activity” pathway is a step-by-step process from creating your research question through selecting a final scholarship product.
  • The “Investigator-initiated Research” pathway provides resources related to original research, including Quality Improvement (QI) projects.

What if I have questions?

Korey Kennelty, Pharmd, MS, PhD, BCGP,  Vice Chair for Implementation Science & Director of IRENE, can provide additional help! Please contact her at korey-kennelty@uiowa.edu  for questions or assistance with:

  • Consulting on new and ongoing research projects
  • Exploring opportunities for funding and disseminating research
  • Reviewing and editing publication and presentation submissions