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The Intern is required to devote 4 hours each week to research activities.  These activities can include dissertation work or some other form of research, but must also be comprised of one or more of the following categories of research endeavors:

  • Research Project. The Intern may participate in either an internship-related research project or a research project external to the internship that has been approved by the Core Committee.  Consistent with the Empirical Clinician training model, the research project should be relevant to clinical practice issues. The Intern must submit to the Overall Supervisor a plan of participation in this research project that justifies a weekly commitment of 4 hours and that will enable the Intern to meet the scholarly work objectives.  Generally, it would be expected that by the end of the internship training year the Intern participation in the research project will result in at least one journal submission in which the Intern is an author or co-author. The plan of participation in a research project must be submitted to the Co-Training Directors after first being approved by the Intern’s Overall Supervisor.
  • Scholarly Review Article. Under the mentorship of an internship faculty member, the Intern would design and implement a critical review of a topic relevant to clinical practice.  The Intern must submit to the Overall Supervisor a proposal of this scholarly activity and a timetable that justifies a weekly commitment of 4 hours and that will enable the Intern to meet the scholarly work objectives.  It would be expected that by the end of the internship training year the Intern’s participation in this scholarly activity will produce one journal submission in which the Intern is an author or co-author.  The proposal of the scholarly activity must be submitted to the Co-Training Directors after first being approved by the Intern’s Overall Supervisor.
  • Public Policy “White Paper”. Under the mentorship of an internship faculty member and in cooperation with a professional association, a mental health advocacy organization, or a governmental agency, the Intern would critically evaluate an issue of public policy relevant to clinical practice or to public mental health.  This public policy “white paper” must maintain high standards of empirical support and critical thinking for any conclusions drawn. The Intern must submit to the Overall Supervisor a proposal of this research activity and a timetable that justifies a weekly commitment of 4 hours and that will enable the Intern to meet the research objectives.  It would be expected that by the end of the internship training year the Intern’s participation in this research activity will produce one “white paper” submission to the relevant public policy agency in which the Intern is an author or co-author.  The proposal of the public policy “white paper” must be submitted to the Co-Training Directors after first being approved by the Intern’s Overall Supervisor. 
  • Program Evaluation.   Under the mentorship of an internship faculty member and in cooperation with a health care service delivery system within or affiliated with the AU/MCG-Charlie Norwood VAMC Internship, the Intern would conduct a systematic evaluation of a health care service delivery program.  This program evaluation must maintain high standards of empirical methodology and therefore must include reasoned data collection and analysis.  The conclusions drawn must be based in large part on empirical support and recommendations must be based in part on the data at hand as well as applicable systems theory/models.  The Intern must submit to the Overall Supervisor a proposal of this proposed program evaluation and a timetable for the project that justifies a weekly commitment of 4 hours and that will enable the Intern to meet the research objectives.  It would be expected that by the end of the internship training year the Intern’s participation in this research activity will produce a written program evaluation report in which the Intern is an author or co-author.  The proposal of the program evaluation must be submitted to the Co-Training Directors after first being approved by the Intern’s Overall Supervisor.

For Interns using a portion of their weekly research time on dissertation work the following guidelines must be followed: 

Dissertation Work.  If the Intern has not completed dissertation work prior to the start of the internship, the Intern must submit to the Overall Supervisor an assessment of the work that is yet to be completed, an action plan as to how the weekly research time will be used to complete the dissertation requirements, and an anticipated timetable as to when dissertation objectives will be met.  A Dissertation action plan must be submitted to the Co-Training Directors.  This action plan should indicate a proposed allocation of time for Dissertation efforts along with the time allotted for the other research project selected.

The MCG-Charlie Norwood VAMC Internship will make use of the following evaluation components in order to monitor the progress and efforts of the Interns in their respective research activities: 

Performance Evaluation.  It is required that the Overall Supervisor and Intern have a formal discussion of the Intern's progress on the chosen research project every four months.  The Overall Supervisor will make a report in August, November and April of the internship year to the Internship Core Committee regarding progress on the research-scholarly project. The Core Committee will review the progress of the research project and the Overall Supervisor will check off on Intern Performance Milestones Tracking form whether or not the intern is making sufficient progress on his/her research project during the Mid-Year Evaluation process.  The intern must submit his/her paper for the research-scholarly project for review on or before May 1st of the year of internship.  Proficiency of the research-scholarly product will be judged by two faculty not directly involved in the research project and the Co-Training Directors using the Evaluation of Intern Research Paper form. Completion of this Intern research-scholarly project will be included in the Intern’s end-of-the-year evaluation using the Intern Performance Milestones Tracking form.

RESEARCH REQUIREMENT TIME TABLE:

End of August: A written proposal of the research project is submitted to the Overall Supervisor, Research Director, and Co-Training Directors.

October End of 1st Quarter review:  The Core Committee will review the progress of the Interns’ research projects.

January Midyear Evaluation:  The Core Committee will review the progress of the research project and the Overall Supervisor will check off on Intern Performance Milestones Tracking form whether or not the intern is making sufficient progress on his/her research project.

April Core Committee Meeting:  The Core Committee will review the progress of the Interns’ research projects.

May 1st: The written product of the research project is due. Proficiency of the research-scholarly product will be judged by two faculty not directly involved in the research project and the Training Director using the Evaluation of Intern Research Paper form. Successful completion of the research-scholarly product will be judged by the Overall Supervisor and the Internship Training Director.