Vol IIX, Oct `04

Kraybill's project is just getting underway, but it already has become an important part of his life and work. "I have been surprised at the amount of time and energy that it has taken," he says. "I work in a community hospital-based program that only now is starting to get a research support program going. So I've had to work out a lot of the details and information on my own. I'm starting from scratch in many ways." But Kraybill says that this has taught him something: "Next time, I would speak much earlier with the research support people at my hospital. I'd talk about the plan and brainstorm the project with them. I'd try to get more support from my institution or nursing facility."

But his work on his Quality Improvement Award project has brought rewards as well for Kraybill. "I have brought credibility and improved care to the nursing facility where I am conducting the research. I have enhanced my own self confidence by conceptualizing a research project, writing it up, and implementing the plan. And I feel much more qualified to advise new fellows in my fellowship program who wish to pursue a research project or career."

Kenneth Boockvar, MD, MS, also has learned much from his experience as a Quality Improvement Award winner for his project, “N-of-1 Medication Trials for Agitated Behavior in Residents with Dementia.” “Conducting research is not as easy as I thought. In some ways, conducting a research project is like running a small business. Your success depends on finding good people to work with, motivating them and keeping them motivated, solving problems, selling ideas, staying within a budget, and keeping the project on track.”

Nonetheless, Boockvar has received tremendous support and encouragement—both within and outside of AMDA—and he is committed to ensuring research is a part of his future and his career. “I’ve been doing long term care research since 1999, and I am committed to this work.” He also encourages others to join his ranks, stating, “It still appears that there are lots of opportunities to improve the care of nursing facility patients through research. We need more investigators and people doing research in this area.” He adds, “But it takes technical skills that most nursing home clinicians probably don’t have. We need to train more long term care providers in the art of conducting research.”

Read more about the experiences and thoughts of Quality Improvement award winners in future issues of this newsletter. In the meantime, contact Faith Gladden at (410) 992-3123 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text97649 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to apply for the 2005 awards program.