In order for residents to have time away from diagnostic services to explore and plan for subspecialty and/or research careers, residents are assigned to an independent study period of 2 weeks during the first year and 3 weeks during the second year. Residents are required to submit a written plan in advance that must be approved by the program director. This time may be used for activities such as attending signout in a subspecialty area of interest, exploring and interviewing for positions in research labs, writing grants, etc.