Every emergency medicine residency program tells its trainees to pursue scholarly activity. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires it. But most programs offer little, if any, protected time to actually do it. The result is a familiar gap: residents who want academic careers are expected to produce scholarship in the margins of a clinical schedule that leaves no margins.

The good news is that a meaningful research portfolio doesn’t require a research track or a fellowship safety net. It requires strategy.

Define Your Target, Then Build Backward

Before committing to any project, residents should clarify what “research portfolio” means for their specific career goal. A competitive critical care fellowship application demands different evidence of scholarship than a community academic position. An aspiring clinician-educator needs different curriculum vitae (CV) lines than a bench researcher.

This distinction matters because it determines where to invest limited hours. Starting with the end in mind prevents the most common mistake: saying yes to any available project regardless of fit.

A Tiered Project Strategy

Not all scholarly projects require the same investment. A tiered approach lets residents maintain momentum across multiple timelines.

• • Tier 1 projects have a low barrier to entry and teach the mechanics of academic writing. Case reports, clinical images for journal submission, and letters to the editor can move from concept to submission in weeks. They won’t anchor a CV, but they build comfort and early fluency with the publication process. Additionally, early wins can influence motivation.
  • Tier 2 projects offer stronger returns for moderate effort. Secondary analyses of publicly available datasets such as National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey or the National Emergency Medical Services Information System, systematic reviews, and survey studies don’t require months of prospective data collection or complex IRB protocols. A well-executed systematic review with meta-analysis can become a highly cited publication with a fraction of the time investment of original research.¹

• • Tier 3 projects include prospective studies, clinical trials, and qualitative research, and they carry the highest risk of not finishing during residency. Residents should pursue these selectively, with a clear question, an engaged mentor, and realistic infrastructure support. Critically, a stalled Tier 3 project shouldn’t leave the CV empty. Running projects across tiers simultaneously provides insurance.²

Mine What You’re Already Doing

Residents generate raw material for scholarship every week without recognizing it. Quality improvement initiatives with measurable outcomes are suitable for publishing when framed using Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence reporting guidelines.³ A novel simulation case or ultrasound curriculum, published with learner outcome data, fits journals like AEM Education and Training. A compelling M&M case already contains a literature review and a teaching point; half the work of a case report is already done.

The goal isn’t to manufacture busy work; it’s to recognize that clinical training produces publishable scholarship as a byproduct, if residents (and faculty) learn to see it.

Time Management for Shift Workers

Block scheduling is a hidden advantage if used intentionally. The residents who are most productive in scholarship batch their research work into focused sessions rather than scattering it across post-shift half-hours. Two four-hour writing sessions during a lighter rotation block will outperform 10 fragmented 45-minute attempts.⁴

External deadlines create natural accountability. Abstract submission windows for Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, ACEP Scientific Assembly, and regional conferences provide structure that self-imposed deadlines rarely match. Working backward from a submission date to set milestones is one of the simplest productivity interventions available.

Build a Team

Time-limited researchers may benefit from collaborators. Pairing with a biostatistician before data collection begins, not after, can prevent months of unusable work. Co-authoring with co-residents distributes the labor: one person manages the literature search, another handles the dataset, a third drafts the methods. Shared projects finish faster than solo ones.⁵

Mentor selection matters here too. The faculty member with the highest H-index isn’t necessarily the best fit. Residents on a training timeline need a mentor who returns feedback within days, not a month. Responsiveness beats prestige.

Traps to Avoid

Three patterns reliably waste resident research time. First, the forever project: a study that has been “almost ready” for two IRB cycles and may never finish during training. Sunk cost is real, and recognizing it early preserves time for projects that will reach completion. Second, saying yes to every faculty member’s pet project without asking whether it leads to an authorship position aligned with specific career goals. Third, waiting to feel ready. The imperfect case report submitted today teaches more than the perfect study designed tomorrow.

Start This Week

Pick one project. Make it a Tier 1 or Tier 2, something that can be completed within a few months. Open the document, draft the first section, and send it to someone who will hold you accountable. A research portfolio isn’t built in protected time you were never given. It’s built in the hours you choose to protect yourself and further your career.

Check out the Research Forum at ACEP26

The ACEP Research Forum is where new ideas become better outcomes. Explore the latest studies, challenge assumptions with top researchers, and see how emerging evidence is redefining clinical standards across emergency medicine.

Register now: https://www.acep.org/sa

Dr. Martini is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Mayo Clinic Arizona, where he serves as off-service resident director and incoming assistant program director for the EM Residency Program. He is President of the Arizona Chapter of ACEP, and his research focuses on artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in emergency department operations, clinical quality, and patient safety.

References

1. Ahn E, Kang H. Introduction to systematic review and meta-analysis. KoreanJ Anesthesiol. 2018;71(2):103-112.
2. Stevenson MD, Smigielski EM, Naifeh MM, et al. Increasing scholarly activity productivity during residency: a systematic review. 
3. Ogrinc G, Davies L, Goodman D, et al. SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence): Revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process.BMJ Qual Saf.  2016;25(12):986-992.
4. Silvia PJ. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association; 2018.
5. Rawat S, Meena S. Publish or Perish: Where are we Heading?JRes Med Sci. 2014;19(2):87-89.