Members of the Research Task Force met recently by conference call to discuss several initiatives. This included a possible collaboration with COMSEP to help identify ways in which information on medical students could be gathered and shared with the program where they will do their residency. This information would help the residency programs determine early in the process relative strengths and weaknesses of the trainee, perhaps as a starting point for his/her individualized learning plan. Drs. John Co and Marc Majure will be contacting COMSEP to see what data they now collect and how the APPD and COMSEP can work together on this project.

The Task Force also discussed whether a Research Tool Shed should be developed for the APPD website (similar to the Curriculum and Evaluation Tool Sheds). Suggestions for inclusion were 1) information on how to do research (both qualitative and quantitative), 2) feedback from APPD approved surveys (number of responses, findings, etc.), and 3) results of APPD special projects. For example, the recent "breastfeeding" survey had a response rate from program directors of over 67%. The Task Force would like to thank all program directors who responded.