AN ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH PROPOSALS AND CHALLENGES FACED BY POSTGRADUATE TRAINEES IN INTERNAL MEDICINE AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES DURING FELLOWSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM:A QUALITATIVE STUDY

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the research proposals and challenges faced by postgraduate fellowship trainees in internal medicine and allied disciplines when writing a proposal. METHODS: The study was undertaken at the Department of Medicine, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from October 2013 to December 2014. This qualitative, grounded theory approach analyzed research proposals for dissertation of 32 postgraduate fellowship trainees of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) in internal medicine and allied disciplines. Later, we triangulated our results with a focus group discussion amongst 10 postgraduate students who had completed their synopses. RESULTS: The number of attempts needed for correction of various components of 32 research proposals ranged from 2-11. The challenges found were related to; research methodology, formulating research questions/hypotheses, setting the background/introduction section, proforma making for data collection, objectives and references writing. About one third of the students found difficulties when writing an appropriate proposal title for their dissertation. From the focus group discussion, a total of six codes emerged after thematic analyses, which were later grouped under four categories. Three themes were deducted from these categories and were related to supervisors, CPSP and students. CONCLUSION: Most of postgraduate fellowship students, had issues in preparing research proposals for dissertations, mainly due to lack of support from supervisors and CPSP. Therefore, CPSP needs to organize more research methodology and medical writing workshops for supervisors and students and to establish well equipped research facilitation centers and research mentorship in each hospital to help the students complete their synopses and dissertations.