CHAM Cases: From Rounds to Publication
The goal is to take an interesting clinical case that emerges from Professor Rounds or from your own care of an interesting patient and, when appropriate, build upon the work you are already doing to develop it into a scholarly case report. This provides an opportunity to learn the full process, from recognizing a case with an important teaching point, to reviewing the literature, developing a focused discussion, writing, and revising a manuscript, and ultimately submitting it for publication.
A few important expectations:
Please have the case vetted before moving forward. Not every interesting clinical case necessarily makes a strong case report. The Chiefs and Program Leadership/Dr. Anosike & Dr. Braganza) are happy to help you determine whether a case has sufficient educational value, novelty, or broader relevance to warrant publication. Please reach out to your faculty mentor or the chiefs before investing significant time in writing.
No more than two residents should work on a single case report. This is intended to ensure that each resident has a meaningful opportunity to participate in the intellectual work of developing the case, conducting the literature review, writing, revising, and responding to feedback.
The case does not need to align with your intended specialty. A case report is in many ways, a writing and scholarly exercise. The purpose is to learn how to recognize an educational question, formulate a focused clinical narrative, review the literature, synthesize information, and communicate a meaningful lesson to a broader audience. These are skills that are highly transferable, regardless of the specialty you ultimately pursue.
Appropriate patient consent is required. Patient consent must be obtained before submitting a case for publication, in accordance with the requirements of the journal and institution. Whenever possible, consent should be obtained in person, with the process handled thoughtfully and respectfully. Please do not assume that a case can be published simply because identifying information has been removed.
Status of case report will be followed up during subsequent semi-annuals.
Publication is the goal, but the learning process matters. The objective is not simply to add a publication to your CV. We want you to experience the process of taking an interesting clinical encounter and turning it into a scholarly product: identifying the teaching point, asking a focused question, reviewing the literature, writing clearly, receiving feedback, revising, and ultimately submitting the work for publication.
Writing and publishing a case report does not count towards your scholarly activity program requirement. Your scholarly activity is intended to be a longitudinal project. The case reports are not intended to be longitudinal.
If you have a case that you think may be suitable, please bring it to the chief residents or Dr. Anosike early rather than waiting until you have written the entire manuscript. We are happy to help you think through the case, determine whether it is appropriate for publication, identify potential faculty mentorship, and guide you through the process.