Primary Care Research Training Program (PCRTP)

The MetroHealth System is pleased to announce the Primary Care Research Training Program (PCRTP), a fellowship designed to train a new pipeline of interprofessional primary care investigators equipped to improve the health and well-being of all Americans. The PCRTP will reside within the Population Health Research Institute at MetroHealth.

The program addresses a critical gap in the nation's health research workforce: while most patient care occurs in primary care settings, most health research takes place in academic medical centers, leaving key questions about chronic disease management, behavioral health integration, and access to care in safety-net settings underexplored.

The fellowship provides didactic and experiential training in community-engaged research, clinical informatics, epidemiology, biostatistics, research methods, clinical trial design, implementation science, quality improvement, grant and manuscript writing, and dissemination.

Mentorship is a cornerstone of this fellowship; every fellow is assigned a dedicated mentor team consisting of a Research Mentor, a Career Mentor, and a Community Research Mentor to support their research and career development throughout the program.

Program Aims

Aim 1: Develop and enhance rigorous research training opportunities in primary care population health content and research methods, including strong mentor and 
community linkages, for postdoctoral fellows committed to careers in primary care 
research.

Aim 2: Increase the number of interprofessional primary care researchers who are equipped to transform health care delivery through rigorous, community-engaged primary care research, and disseminate their findings through peer-reviewed publications, national presentations, and community partnerships.

Goals

1. Participate in formal training in population health and clinical research through scheduled didactic sessions at Case Western Reserve University and at MHS, and, if desired, through completion of the Clinical Research Scholars Certificate Program through Case Western Reserve University.
2. Obtain exposure to and experience with research methods, implementation science, quality improvement, addressing social determinants of health, proposal development, and leadership.
3. Complete a mentored population health research project and a community-based quality improvement project.

Benefits

1. Individualized mentored research projects and career development planning by MHS and CWRU faculty.
2. Obtain robust experience collaborating with community partners to address population health needs.
3. Participate in robust grant writing training.
4. Shared learning experiences with VA Quality Scholars, Medical Informatics Fellows, and Mentored Clinical Research Scholars.
5. Receive a Certificate in Clinical Research upon completion.
6. Specialized training in quality improvement, research ethics, implementation science, health informatics, leadership, and grant writing.

Fellowship Structure

The PCRTP is a two-year postdoctoral fellowship training two fellows per year in rigorous primary care research methods.

Eligibility

Applicants must be nurse practitioners, dentists, clinical psychologists, physician assistants, physicians, or PhD-prepared researchers who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents at the time of the application submission. Applicants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds (ethnic, financial, or educational) are encouraged to apply.

Ideal applicants have excelled in their education, have completed their formal clinical or doctoral training, are prepared to devote two consecutive years to research, and can devote part-time (no more than 30%) effort to clinical or scholarly practice within The MetroHealth System.

For additional information, contact:

Aleece Caron, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University
Co-Director, The Center for Health Care, Research and Policy, The MetroHealth System
Co-Director of Education, The Population Health Research Institute, The MetroHealth System