Main research project and publications (including tips for starting out) For the residency training, you are required to undertake a major research project. You must be first author on the publication and it must be submitted and published by a veterinary scientific journal. My research was looking at whether there could be a quicker, more sterile way of placing a urinary catheter in female dogs and we timed veterinary students placing catheters using three different techniques (blind palpation, vaginal speculum and urinary catheterisation device as demonstrated in the drawing). The results indicated that blind palpation was the most difficult to learn and perform and was also the slowest technique to perform. Vaginal speculum and catheterisation device were comparable in terms of time, however the catheterisation device may provide a more sterile way of placing a catheter, thus decreasing the incidence of UTIs which is a common complication of this procedure. Further research is needed to confirm this.
Tips for starting out with your residency publication:
These are my tips I have for residents embarking on their research project. I am not an expert, but I hope this helps in some way.
1 - Choose a simple project, for example small group comparisons. Large retrospective studies can be statistical nightmares. If you can do something prospective that involves simple statistics e.g. time or other measurement value, this can simplify the statistics. (p.s. If you are in a university training programme and have a statistician to hand this may not be an issue).
2 - Once you have your initial study design, talk to a statistician at this point to see if you have adequate numbers. This may avoid wasting time on a project that won't be published, or that you have to repeat the data collection for.
3 - Pull all the relevant previous literature and read this as a first step. Often you will find the introductions are similar in style and content. Don't plagiarise obviously, but also don't reinvent the wheel - pick out the key points from other published literature to use in your own introduction and discussion.
4 - If you find similar papers, look closely at the methodology and statistics and see if it is something you can replicate with the resources you have to hand.
5 - Involve as many people as possible with your initial study plan and design. Again, don't waste time on a project that will never get published - consulting with a few people can avoid this.
6 - Find someone who can accurately proof read your paper for you and ensure that everything is in scientific language. Read similar published papers to familiarise yourself with the language they use. There are also official guides for this, but I just learnt from reading papers.
7 - I don't know anyone who has had their paper accepted first time around. It will almost certainly require revisions (often multiple).
8 - Finally, it is a requirement of the training programme to give a presentation at an international conference. Most commonly for residents, they present their major research project findings.
Be prepared for questions! My presentation was virtual due to Covid, and was chosen for ACVS and ANZCVS Science week abstract presentations.
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