ABSTRACT
Explosive growth is never trouble-free, and graduate medical education (GME) has been no exception. Supervision, work hours, funding, the balance between service and education, and territorial disputes are issues that have defied complete or final answers. Another issue, especially germane to graduate training, is the role of research in the education of residents. After completing graduate education, most physicians enter practice, where stereotypical behavior is fostered by societal expectations and peer pressure. To protect the future of medicine, all medical schools and GME disciplines should have curricular requirements for education in research methodology, interpretation, and ethics, and the opportunity to participate in research projects. Creativity is further constrained by the educational experience. But creativity, like many natural phenomena, is a cyclic process in which effort and relaxation, work and play, are balanced. Psychometric indices of creativity could be incorporated into the Medical College Aptitude Test or the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
