Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Graduate Medical Education program residents, physicians and physician assistant residents, dental residents and other medical professionals staff members presented research results of various topics in poster or podium presentation format during the 11th annual CRDAMC Research Day May 18.
The presentations were delivered in a competition format with judges front and center, which added a slight level of nervousness.
Research day originally began with mostly family and emergency medicine residents presenting and has now grown to include anesthesia nursing, psychiatry, physician assistant, and dental residents and other hospital staff.
“I think that research is definitely important,” said Cpt. Rachel Rodriquez, emergency medical physician’s assistant, CRDAMC. “As far as the medical field in general, we base all of our practice policies off of evidence base and that evidence base comes from research involved.”
Rodriquez’s presentation was on the accuracy of Army combat medics needle site selection practices and offered that research in general will help make medics more confident and perform their jobs better.
Researchers not only present at CRDAMC but have presented nationally at military medical conferences and most residents research work is a part of the scholarly requirement in the programs.   
“Our residents traditionally have gone over and above what they need to graduate,” said,” Dr. Vernon Wheeler, family medicine faculty, CRDAMC.
Cpt. Scott Petersen, second year family medicine resident, CRDAMC, commented that his biggest goal from his research was to impress upon fellow physicians to expand their differential when it comes to examining a patient with a simple headache and wanting to help them think more clinically when asking questions to find a diagnosis quickly.
A reason that someone has something as simple as a headache might be just a headache or it could be cancer, Petersen commented. 
Dawn Beaver, human research protections and compliance director, CRDAMC, reviews research publications from the staff for release to the public and for events like research day.
The department had approximately 30 presentations for this event.
“I really enjoyed the research presentations and want to celebrate the amount of research that’s going on in our hospital,” said Beaver. “All of our research is important. Some projects don’t cross my desk until the publication stage such as case reports, which are done for rare diagnoses, presentations, or cases that would be impossible to study in a controlled clinical trial.”
 When that occasion comes along and we do see that rare case, we hope it is published, so another person can learn from it, she added.