General

Children's Intensive Research - Residency Pathway (CHIRRP) Overview

Description

• CHIRRP is an American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) approved mechanism for pediatric residency training and is designed for residents who have earned an MD (with substantial research experience) or MD/PhD degree and are committed to an academic research career.
• The ABP's Integrated Research Pathway allows for 11 months of research to be integrated into 3 years of general pediatrics residency prior to entering a 3-year fellowship in a pediatric subspecialty.

Structure

• CHIRRP residents will parallel traditional clinical residency for most of the first year.
• Residents will spend a total of 11 months out of the 3-year residency in research training opportunities.  Research training months will be maximized in the final 2 years of residency.
• Continuity clinic continues weekly throughout the three years.
• Mentorship is a central feature of CHIRRP. A customized mentoring committee of experienced Children's National investigators is assembled for each resident. A research mentor is then identified based on the applicant's experience and career interests, which may be oriented toward basic science, clinical science, public health or health policy.

Successful Candidates

• Research residents will be selected through the same residency match system in place for traditional applicants.

               o   Interview with programs during the same interview window as other 
                    prospective residents

• One to two research-residency slots will be offered per year.
• Intern applicants cannot be guaranteed acceptance into CHIRRP prior to the beginning of their internship since clinical performance and PL-1 in-service exam scores are used to judge a candidate's suitability for this training. 
• Housestaff who wish to pursue this pathway must notify the Program Directors by January 1st of the internship year.
• Necessary requirements to be considered include:

                o    Extensive prior research experience (most will have graduate degrees
                       in addition to their medical degree) and/or evidence of a sustained 
                       research effort.
                o    Indication, from the candidate's PL-1 in-training exam score, that he or
                       she will probably be able to pass the American Board of Pediatrics 
                       Certifying Exam without a third year of general pediatric clinical 
                       training.
                o    Candidates must be approved by the American Board of Pediatrics 
                       during the first nine months of the PL-1 year.