Research

Residents at all levels of training are encouraged to actively engage in research endeavors. Opportunities exist to get involved in clinical outcomes, basic science and device development research. Institutional support exists for Houston Methodist residents who routinely present annually at local, regional and national conferences.

MITIE (The Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation and Education): The first facility of its kind, MITIE is at the Houston Methodist Hospital.  It encompasses 35,000 square feet of research and training space dedicated to procedural skills acquisition and the development of image-guided technology, medical robotics, telementoring and new procedural techniques. a comprehensive education and research institute. Its educational mission is focused on enabling residents to acquire new procedural skills and learn new technology. Its research mission is to enhance the use of image-guided procedures, incorporate robotic surgery into the image-guided platform, and develop new technology and procedural techniques. To accomplish this mission, MITIE contains three essential elements housed under one roof – a virtual hospital, a procedural skills lab, and a core of research operating rooms.

• Virtual hospital uses simulation technology to recreate any part of the patient care environment. Skills ranging from establishing an airway to management of an operating room emergency are practiced here. Simulation allows the rehearsal of low frequency, high-risk events in a manner conducive to learning.
• Procedural skills lab is equipped to conduct hands-on procedural training using porcine or cadaver models. Each skills station is essentially a compact operating room or endoscopy suite with all the tools necessary to conduct procedures.
• Core suite of research operating rooms in MITIE are focused on training in robotic surgery, image guided procedures, and the development of new technology.