Scientific Laboratory “Moscow Polyclinic”: Experience of Project Implementation

Abstract

Background. In 2021, a new educational project “Scientific Laboratory ‘Moscow Polyclinic’” was launched. Its aim is to develop research competencies among primary health care workers and to boost activities such as journal publication and the organization of specialized scientific and practical conferences. The article briefly describes several characteristics and features of this project for two seasons (2021–2022). Materials and methods. The author collected, aggregated, statistically processed, and analyzed the comparative data for two project seasons. Results and discussion. The analysis included information on the project design (topic-based tracks, blocks “Transformation” and “Accelerator of Ideas”, sections “Science” and “Service Design”, Scientific Club), the results of sociological surveys and their interpretation, and the brief scientometric characteristics of participants’ publications. Between 2021 and 2022, 9818 specialists took part in the Scientific Laboratory; they were outpatient polyclinic care providers in the Moscow healthcare system. In addition, the number of speakers nearly doubled, and a community of mentors was formed from the active researchers in Moscow healthcare. Conclusions. The project speakers included leading foreign and Russian scientists, representatives of scientific journals and peer-reviewed research databases, and Moscow healthcare specialists. They shared with the participants their experience of planning, their methodology for conducting a study; algorithms for selecting a study topic, and the features of research data publication, including possible sources. The project mentors were the chief specialists of the Moscow Healthcare Department, and the heads of medical organizations experienced in carrying out the studies. As a result, the participants successfully published their articles in the peer-reviewed journals from the list of the Higher Attestation Commission (VAK). The project demonstrates that the employees of Moscow polyclinics are not only active professional physicians but also researchers with critical thinking and deep knowledge in clinical medicine.