ABSTRACT Background Formal training in medical writing provides numerous benefits for pharmacy residents including the development of writing and scholarship fundamentals, enhancement of time and project management skills, and cultivation of mentoring relationships. Literature describing the outcomes of a dedicated medical writing rotation is limited. The objective of this study was to describe publication and citation outcomes associated with the implementation of a medical writing rotation for post‐graduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residents at a Veterans Affairs health care system. Methods All publication activities for residents that participated in the medical writing rotation between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2024 were included for review. A literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Embase, and Scopus databases for each included resident, and both Scopus and individual journal websites were utilized to collect journal and publication level metrics. Results Forty PGY2 pharmacy residents (3.1 residents per year) participated in the medical writing rotation. Of those, 35 (87.5%) residents were successful in publishing at least one manuscript developed during the rotation, resulting in 32 total publications. The majority of publications were review articles (84.4%). The total number of times one of the publications was cited by another published article was 596, representing a median of 16.5 (range: 2–61) citations per publication. The calculated h‐index for all publications from the rotation was 16. A median of 1 (range: 1–3) pharmacy preceptors were involved as a co‐author for each publication with a total of 15 different preceptors co‐authoring at least one publication. After the completion of the rotation, 28 of 38 (73.7%) residents authored at least one future publication. Conclusion Implementation of a medical writing rotation helps residents develop foundational scholarship skills to make meaningful contributions to the medical literature while supporting preceptor development and resident collaboration.
Megan A. Anweiler (Mon,) studied this question.