Abstract
PROBLEM: Students, residents, and early-career researchers (ECRs) have limited opportunities for early involvement in high-quality health professions education research (HPER). This project aimed to create a community of scholars for medical students, residents, and ECRs to increase early-career HPER collaboration. A community of scholars is a community of practice in which the common area of interest is scholarly work. This article describes how MedEd Collaborative was established as a permanent national HPER collaborative led by medical students, residents, and ECRs. APPROACH: MedEd Collaborative was formed in September 2020, consisting of a committee of medical students, residents, and ECRs who oversee collaborators in the United Kingdom. Guidance on creating research collaboratives, developing a community of scholars, and collaborative writing was followed. The primary measurable outcome was to publish one original research article that used a collaborative research approach and incorporated theory. The community was cultivated by providing opportunities for early-career involvement in collaborative HPER projects and mentorship and training in HPER methods. OUTCOMES: MedEd Collaborative has developed a community of scholars that increased opportunities for early involvement in high-quality HPER for 82 medical students, residents, and ECRs. The collaborative structure facilitates increasing legitimate peripheral participation in HPER: acting as a collaborator provides basic research skills development, and learners can gradually assume more responsibility as their skills progress by acting on project committees. MedEd Collaborative's research outputs progressed HPER by using conceptual frameworks to explain student volunteering decisions and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the scholarly output included 15 publications (of which 4 were original research), 19 presentations, 4 prizes, and 2 grants. NEXT STEPS: To ensure the sustainability of the collaborative, the collaborative will refine its identity in the HPER landscape, expand the model with other methods and to other professions, strengthen its collaborative structure, and establish formal partnerships.