Research Fellowship

How to Submit

All applications and evaluations must be submitted through the online portal by 5pm Central Time on the deadline. If the deadline falls on a holiday or weekend, applications will be accepted on the next business day.

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New Application Deadline: March 31st

Renewal Application Deadline: September 30th

Renewal applications are due the third year after initial application is approved.
Subsequent renewals are due every five years.

Application Fees

Application fee is $400 at the time of submission.
Annual fee of $150 for years 1 and 2.
Annual fee of $200 for year 3 and beyond.
Please make check payable to "SAEM" and reference "[Type of fellowship] Fellowship Application."
Checks can be mailed to: SAEM, 1111 East Touhy Ave, Suite 540, Des Plaines, IL 60018 or faxed using the credit card form [pdf] to (847) 813-5450.

Applications must be prepared using the current PHS 398 application forms unless otherwise noted. Pages that do not apply (for example budget pages) do not need to be completed. The application should address all of the items, in order.

Please note, you must submit applications through the online portal. Emailed copies of an application will not be accepted.

Research Fellows

Eligibility

Fellows must:

Be signed up for a fellowship at an SAEM-approved institution.
Be a current member of SAEM, and maintain membership in SAEM throughout the fellowship training.
Meet the learning objectives in the SAEM application.

Registration - Research Fellows Only

Must be a member of SAEM to register.
Fellows enrolling in the SAEM Fellowship Approval Program must complete and submit the Fellow Registration Form to SAEM by the published deadline.
No fee is required to register.
Once the registration is approved, the fellow is enrolled in the program. A letter will be sent to the fellow indicating he or she is now enrolled.

Progress and final reports

Annual progress reports are required from all registered fellows on September 14 (or next business day if the deadline falls on a weekend).
If a required report is not received within 10 business days of the deadline, the fellow will be dropped from the program.
SAEM membership dues must be up to date in order to submit all required reports.
Submit the final progress report within two years of the conclusion of fellowship training.
Final approval reports must be received by the published deadline with all required documentation to be considered for review.

Approval

Upon completion of all required reports, and upon favorable decision from the review committee, participants will be determined to be SAEM-approved fellows. This means that the fellow has successfully completed a high-quality fellowship as determined by SAEM.
A certificate will be mailed to fellows who have passed the program.
Once the fellowship is complete, no additional steps are required of the fellow to maintain approval.

Institution Application

Approval of an Emergency Medicine Research Fellowship program is contingent on a review of the institutional environment, academic productivity of prior graduates and of current members of the research team, and the proposed curriculum for future fellows. All approved institutions must have an ACGME-approved residency program in place, and must meet the criteria as set forth below.

A site visit and/or interview may be requested at the discretion of the committee members. After the initial approval is granted for a period of 3 academic years (July 1 – June 30), programs with demonstrated success can be reapproved for a five year period. On an annual basis, approved programs must communicate to the committee any changes in research fellowship program personnel. In the event of the departure or replacement of the program director, a secondary review will be required.

Research Training Program Plan (25 page limit)

The description of the research training program should plan to provide didactic training as well as clinical or health services research experience. This should include a plan for determining trainee experience and needs and monitoring progress to accomplish desired goals. The program should develop trainee skills in understanding research, applying their critical abilities to conduct research, identify problems in the process of conducting research, raise questions and propose solutions to resolving problems. Trainees should be prepared to utilize their research findings as they pursue future research. Programs should provide all trainees with additional professional development skills and career guidance including instruction and training in grant writing in order to apply successfully for future career development and independent research support.

As one of the major goals of SAEM in the development of this program is to establish standardization in emergency care research training, all programs should specifically address instruction in the following areas:

Identification of Area of Focus within Emergency Care Research;
Hypothesis Generation;
Research Design;
Data Collection Methods;
Data Monitoring and Interim Data Analysis;
Data Analysis;
Presentation of Research;
Manuscript Preparation, Submission, and Revision;
Grant Preparation, Submission, and Revision;
Project Management;
Ethical Aspects of Medical Research;
Regulatory Requirements;
Informatics;
Teaching Skills;
Career Development.

Every trainee must receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Applications must include a description of a program to provide formal or informal instruction in scientific integrity and ethical principles in research. Applications without plans for instruction in the responsible conduct of research will not be approved.

Plans must address the subject matter of the instruction, the format of the instruction, the degree of faculty participation, trainee attendance, and the frequency of instruction. The rationale for the proposed plan of instruction must be provided. Program reports on the type of instruction provided, topics covered, and other relevant information, such as attendance by trainees and faculty participation, must be included in future competing continuation and noncompeting applications.

The minimum fellowship duration will be two years. It is expected that during this time period, the fellow will meet the learning objectives noted above, and at a minimum they will obtain a research related training degree (for example, a Master’s of Science in epidemiology or translational research) submit a study to the IRB, author at least two full-length manuscripts (including at least one as first author) and submit a competitive grant application to the NIH or another major national organization for at least $100,000. Please note that Masters Degree programs with primarily a health policy focus without strong research training may not be sufficient to allow approval of the program or of the fellows. Programs must describe the expected timeframe for completion of each of these milestones. A fellow with a research related training degree, as defined in the guidelines, should be encouraged to enroll in a fellowship and can be approved. All fellows need a rigorous educational program involving a substantial amount of planned coursework focused on research during the fellowship. Therefore, their prior educational experience would not be sufficient to satisfy the fellowship educational requirement.

The fellow would need to engage in continued, substantial coursework to meet this requirement. Planned coursework will be reviewed by the Research Fellowship Subcommittee during the fellow registration process. Fellows should not have to repeat courses they have successfully completed previously.

The application should specifically delineate the number of hours per week that will be devoted to research, education (in didactic conferences and classes) and clinical time. It is recommended that clinical hours be restricted to 8 per week but required that clinical hours be restricted to a maximum of 12 hours per week.

All trainees are required to pursue their research training full time, normally defined as 40 hours per week. Programs must guarantee that trainees will have at least 75 percent protected time for at least 2 years. For that reason, it should be noted that fellows who attempt to fasttrack and combine their research training with other commitments (for example, residency or excessive moonlighting) will not be considered to have met the requirements for approval.

Program Personnel

All senior/key personnel should be identified on the SF424 form (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/SF424R-R_AdditionalProfiles.doc). The Program Director must possess the scientific background and leadership and administrative capabilities required to coordinate, supervise, and direct the proposed research training program. The Program Director will be responsible for the selection and appointment of trainees to the approved research training program, and for the overall direction, management, administration, and evaluation of the program.

An NIH biosketch for all senior/key personnel is required, which should convey any advanced training which they possess along with their emergency care research accomplishments. While not absolutely required, it is strongly encouraged to have at least one emergency medicine residency trained member of the team. Letters of support should be provided from all relevant faculty mentors and the departmental chair(s). If trainees will be eligible for funding in K12 or T32 training programs, letters of support from the PI’s of these training programs should be included.

Past Training Record

The application should describe the past research training record of the program, the Program Director, and other senior/key personnel. The information should list past trainees and describe the success of former trainees of the designated senior/key personnel with respect to further career development and in establishing productive scientific careers. Evidence can include successful completion of programs, further career advancement of former trainees such as receipt of grants, career awards, further training appointments and similar accomplishments. Evidence of a productive scientific career can include a record of successful competition for research grants, receipt of special honors or awards, a record of publications, receipt of patents, promotion to scientific positions, and any other accepted measures of success consistent with the nature and duration of the training period.

Research Resources & Environment

The applicant institution must demonstrate a strong and high-quality research program in the area(s) proposed for research training and must have the requisite staff and facilities to carry out the proposed program.

Institutional Commitment

The applicant institution should include information that documents a commitment to the proposed research training program’s goals, and provide assurance that the institution intends the program to be an integral part of its research and research training endeavor. A letter of support from the Dean, although not required, would demonstrate this commitment. The application should include a description of support (financial or otherwise) to be provided to the program, which could include, for example, space, shared laboratory facilities and equipment, funds for curriculum development, continuous medical education (CME), conference attendance, release time for the Program Director and participating faculty, support for additional trainees in the program, or any other creative ways to improve and enhance the growth of the research training program. A description of the mentoring team available to the fellow and their contributions to the fellowship goals detailed below is an integral part of the application.

Evaluation and Tracking Component

The application must describe a strong evaluation and tracking component that will review and determine the effectiveness of all aspects of the program. This should include a system for tracking trainees following their completion of the program completion to determine success or failure of the program. The follow up tracking would include information on program publications, grant proposals, and awards, and career trajectory of trainees who were supported by the program. The application should provide a prospective evaluation plan for process and outcome measures. Outcome measures may include relevant positions obtained, current activities related to research, publication record, and the success rate of applying for and obtaining Federal and non-Federal research grant support. The evaluation and tracking report should be included annually as part of the Progress Report, in future competing continuation applications, and as part of the Final Progress Report.

Acknowledgment of Fellow Registration & the Approval Process: Each application should acknowledge that in order to be eligible for approval as a fellow, the fellow will need to:

Have completed an MD or DO approved ACGME residency program. (If special circumstances exist, fellows who do not meet this criterion may be considered on a case-by-case basis.)
Be registered with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine by the posted deadline.
Be a current member of SAEM, and maintain membership in SAEM throughout the fellowship training.
Submit annual progress reports describing the research, education and clinical activities.
Complete all fellowship requirements within 2 years of completing the formal training. Fellows are not required to submit the grant within the 2-3 year training period, but must submit the grant within 2 years following completion of the fellowship to maintain eligibility for approval by SAEM. Meet the learning objectives set forth within this application.
Complete at least 2 years of research training post-residency.
Earn a research related MS degree. Most MPH programs will not meet the research requirements of this program.
It is recommended that clinical hours be restricted to 8 per week but required that clinical hours be restricted to a maximum of 12 hours per week.
Submit at least one study to the IRB and receive approval during the fellowship.
Author at least two full-length peer reviewed research manuscripts (including at least one as first author) that have been accepted to publication. Publications written prior to fellowship do not count.
Submit a competitive grant application to the NIH or another major national organization for at least $100,000.
Submit the fellowship approval final report within 2 years of the conclusion of fellowship training.

Prior training will not count toward fellowship approval.

Applicant institutions should understand that as SAEM evaluates this fellowship program requirements are subject to change.