Scholarly Activities in Pathology

  





    
        

        

            
Scholarly Activities

 
 in the UBC Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine



 OVERVIEW1  



Scholarly activity means research of quality and significance, or, in appropriate fields, distinguished, creative or professional work of a scholarly nature; and the dissemination of the results of that scholarly activity. Judgment of scholarly activity is based mainly on the quality and significance of an individual’s contribution. Evidence of scholarly activity varies among the disciplines [with] different pathways to academic and scholarly excellence. Diverse substantive contributions to knowledge and methods of dissemination, as recognized within [a] field of inquiry, [are] valued. 




                    
                    
Scholarly activity can take three forms.

                    
FORMS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITY 


                

                    Traditional Research 

                    Scholarship of Teaching (Education Research) 

                    Professional Contributions                     
                

       

        
 
    
  


  
                    

                        
Traditional Research

                        

                     
1. TRADITIONAL RESEARCH:  Traditional research means  [investigation or experimentation] undertaken on a systematic basis  [aimed at discovery]  in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture, and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications2.

  
  
Published work is, where appropriate, the primary evidence used to assess productivity in traditional research.  [The significance of] published work  [is] examined with three related considerations in mind: the quality of the venues in which the published work appears; the quantity of the published work; and the overall impact of the work on their field or discipline3.
  

 
 
TRADITIONAL RESEARCH HAS AT LEAST THREE CATEGORIES: 

                
    
                       
  • 1. Basic Investigative  | or Discovery Research
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  • 2. Clinical Applied Research 
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  •  3. Translational Research | or Knowledge Translation
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TRADITIONAL RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN PATHOLOGY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE4 

                

                            1. Basic Investigative Research
                           
  
                            
Study of the fundamental causes and mechanisms of health and disease, and includes education scholarship.

                            
  
                         

        



    

            
            

        



        
        


        

        


    
 
  
  
  
 


Brain & neuroscience


The Neurology category covers resources concerned with the central and peripheral nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and fluids. Coverage includes general and clinical neurology including neurosurgery, neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, neuroradiology, neuropediatrics, neuropathology, and neurobiology. Resources on cerebrovascular diseases, movement and spinal disorders, pain, dementia, headache, aphasiology, brain injury, paraplegia, stroke, and acupuncture are also included.


 				
			

 





Cancer


The Oncology category covers resources on the etiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer such as chemotherapy, radiation and gene therapy. Cancer specialties such as gynecologic oncology, neuro-oncology, surgical oncology, radiological oncology, oral oncology and dermatological oncology are also included.


 				
			

 





Cardiovascular and pulmonary


The Cardiovascular & Respiratory Systems category covers resources concerned with all aspects of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery and respiratory diseases. Topics include circulation, cardiovascular technology and measurement, cardiovascular pharmacology and therapy, hypertension, heart and lung transplantation, arteries, arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, angiology, perfusion, stroke, as well as all types of respiratory and lung diseases.


 				
			

 






Endocrinology, metabolism & nutrition


The Endocrinology, Metabolism & Nutrition category is concerned with resources on the growth and regulation of the human body. Coverage focuses on disorders associated with endocrine glands such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity. Nutrition resources focus on topics such as diagnosis, treatment, and management of nutritional and metabolic disorders. Reproductive endocrinology is excluded and is placed in the Reproductive Medicine category.


 				
			

 

 



Gastrointestinal systems


The Gastroenterology and Hepatology category covers general and investigative gastroenterology and hepatology resources including those concerned with the structure, function, and diseases of the digestive system, stomach, intestines, colon, rectum, and the liver.


 				
			

 









 Informatics / medical technology


The Research/Laboratory Medicine & Medical Technology category includes resources on pathology, forensic sciences, medical genetics, biotechnology, and biomedical engineering. Coverage also includes clinical monitoring and computing devices; medical instrumentation; and artificial organs, medical implants, and other emerging medical treatments.


 				
			

 

 








Skin conditions


The Dermatology category covers resources concerned with all aspects of the skin and its diseases, including general, investigative, and experimental dermatology. Topics include contact dermatitis, venereal disease, leprosy, dermatologic surgery, dermatologic pathology, and dermatologic oncology, as well as material on the care of burns and wounds.




 				
			

 




         
     


        
 
        
 
        
 
                  



                       

                          2. Clinical Applied Research
                             
  
                            
Research that refines or redefines diseases, identifies novel diseases, or disease phenotypes, and evaluates, appraises, and reports on clinical practice in a hospital, including existing and novel therapies and health care systems, to continually maintain and improve safety and quality of patient care

 

 				
			
       

                 
    

                        

                        
                   
                    

                           3. Translational Research (or Knowledge Translation)
                            
 
                            
Process of transforming basic research discoveries into improved clinical practice and patient care, including innovation, test development, and implementation
  

 				
			
   
                         
    

                        

                          
                        


  
      

     

  1Guide to Reappointment, Promotions, and Tenure Procedures at UBC 2016/17 (SAC Guide), http://www.hr.ubc.ca/faculty-relations/files/SAC-Guide.pdf

  2Frascati Manual: Proposed standard practice for surveys on research and experimental development, OECD 2002 Paris

   3SAC Guide

  4Academic Pathology. Providing the Foundation for Innovative, Highest Quality, Patient Centred Care in British Columbia in the 21st Century. October 2014
 
 
                    

                    

 
 

 
Scholarship of Teaching



   
2. SCHOLARSHIP OF TEACHING OR EDUCATION RESEARCH:  Scholarship of teaching refers to a broader contribution to the improvement of teaching and learning beyond an individual’s own teaching responsibilities. It is not synonymous with excellent teaching.

  
  
For scholarship of teaching, scholarly activity may be evidenced by factors such as originality or innovation, demonstrable impact in a particular field or discipline, peer reviews of scholarly contributions to teaching, dissemination in the public domain, or substantial and sustained use by others. For example, textbooks and curriculum reform that changed academic understanding or made a significant contribution to the way in which a discipline or field is taught might constitute useful evidence of the scholarship of teaching, whereas textbooks or curriculum revision of a routine nature would not5.
    
  

 

 
 Scholarship of Teaching or Education Research

                     
 


 
				
			
 
 




    
      

     


  5CSAC Guide.
 
 
  

                    
                    
 
                    

                        
Professional Contribution

                        


   
3. PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTION:  Professional Contribution refers to sustained and current activity that is creative, innovative, excellent, and impactful on the profession, the discipline, or the health system.

 
  
Professional Contribution should not be of a routine or repetitive character. Merely practicing a profession as a typical consultant or professional might do is insufficient. Thus, consulting per se does not constitute a professional contribution [in this context].
   
  
   
A Professional Contribution includes work having a significant impact such as advice or policy analysis that results in: the drafting or implementation of new and significant legislation; an integrated and innovative summary of existing legislation and policy; or developing a new predictive model of [health evaluation] whose predictive power has been empirically validated by [data]6. 
 
   
    
Representative examples of Professional Contributions are summarized below7. 
 
    
 
 
  
Contributions to the Development of Professional Practice  
 
   
Demonstration of leadership in the profession, professional organizations, government or regulatory agencies that has influenced standards and/or enhanced the effectiveness of the discipline. 

  
   
These include (but are not limited to): 

                
    
                    
  • Guideline development
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  • Development and implementation of quality of practice initiatives
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  • Development and implementation of utilization management tools and supports
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  • Health policy development
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  •  Government policy
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  •  Community development
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  •  International health and development
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  •   Consensus conference statements
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  •  Regulatory committees
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  •  Setting of standards
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Professional Innovation and Creative Excellence  

   
Professional innovation may include: 

                
    
                    
  • Making or developing of an invention [relevant to practice]
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  • Conceptual [practice] innovations
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Creative excellence may be targeted at a spectrum of audiences (lay public to health professionals) and includes: 

                
    
                    
  • Biomedical art
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  • Communications media
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  • Video presentations
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 Professional Contributions
                           
 


 
 				
			
 

   
   
   
    
  
     

     

  6Ibid.

  7Adapted from the Manual for Academic Promotion, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto June 2013.
 
 
    

              

                    

                        
                    
     
 


 Areas of Special Interests


AREAS OF SPECIAL INTERESTS  





 

        

   

   

  


Biomedical studies and clinical applications


The application of the natural sciences, especially the biological and physiological sciences, to clinical medicine. Development of  knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. 


				
			 

  
 

 


Clinical diagnostic testing 


Aids physicians by performing renal function tests, liver function tests, cardiac function tests, diabetes  and other endocrinology tests etc. These tests are used for the diagnosis and monitoring of many organ system disorders. 


				
			

  

 





Utilization management


Evaluation of the medical necessity, appropriateness, and efficiency of the use of health care services, procedures, and facilities under the provisions of the applicable health benefits plan


 				
			

 
 








Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service and patient care