Scholars
in Clinical Science Program
Mentoring Responsibilities Agreement
We
are pleased to inform you that Dr. _____________ has been accepted
into the Scholars in Clinical Science Program (SCSP), and you have
been identified as his/her mentor. The SCSP consists of three general
educational approaches: (1) a series of didactic degree-quality
courses; (2) a longitudinal clinical research seminar series; and
(3) most importantly, a mentored clinical research project. We strongly
believe that development of the Scholar depends upon a specific,
intensive mentored research experience under the direct supervision
of an accomplished clinical research investigator like you. As with
bench-research programs, the optimal clinical research training
experience will take place in the laboratory of a well-established
investigator with an independent, extramural-funded research program.
The
success of this mentor-directed, hypothesis-driven intensive research
experience is largely dependent on your willingness to guide the
Scholar in this effort and to protect his/her time to achieve
success in this endeavor. The SCSP requires a student to have
80% protected time during the first year and 75% the second year.
The SCSP is not prescriptive as to how the 20% clinical effort
is comprised in the first year, since some training programs wish
to intersperse outpatient and inpatient responsibilities. However,
the 80% protected time is critical to the student’s success,
given the time commitment required to pursue SCSP-related activities.
Typically, one half-day clinic involves more than 10% effort.
Indeed, many healthcare systems allocate 12.5% effort for each
half-day clinic session to accommodate for out-of-clinic time
(e.g., phone calls, medical refills, review labs). We anticipate
that students will also attend clinical conferences in their divisions
and departments, thus adding to their clinical time. Therefore,
a successful model that has been effective for prior students
is to have one half-day clinic weekly. For most ACGME-accredited
programs, this allocation is also adequate to maintain their required
longitudinal experience.
The
Scholar will be required to submit a project title and abstract
to the SCSP Committee on Mentoring (COM) before the summer session
begins in July. To facilitate this process, we expect that you
will meet with the trainee at least once before the program begins
to work with him/her in accomplishing this task.
We
believe that, in addition to training in the techniques and processes
utilized in your research laboratory, effective mentoring is essential
for the development of excellent clinical research investigators:
“Mentoring
plays an important role in the conveyance of research standards
to trainees. Trainees not only draw from their mentors’
scientific expertise but also infer from the words and actions
of their mentors notions about responsibly conducting research,
preparing grant applications, interacting with colleagues and
preparing articles for publication. Laboratory supervision,
one activity encompassed by the concept of mentoring, is critical
to assessing the professional development of the trainee and
to ensuring the integrity of projects in which individuals other
than the principal investigator may play a role.”
(AAMC, Teaching the Responsible Conduct of Research,
p. 93)
We
believe that an effective mentoring environment consists of three
components:
1.
The mentor preceptor is responsible for overseeing the research
project. Specifically, the mentor supervises, at regular intervals,
the design and conduct of the study, the scientific and clinical
details of the investigation, the analysis of generated data,
and the preparation of manuscripts and presentations for publications
and meetings, including the “oral thesis defense”
presentation at the conclusion of the two-year training program.
Additionally, the perspective of the university medical center
regarding ethical and regulatory issues in human investigation
should be continually reviewed.
2.
As a second tier in the mentoring system and to assist in the
development of a cohesive program, each Scholar is appointed
a “program advisor” from the COM. This individual
is responsible for oversight of the student/mentor relationship,
offers career guidance, and participates on the student’s
thesis committee. An additional component of our advisory system
is a group of individuals called “key contacts.”
The key contact group is composed of members of the faculty
or administration who have special insights or expertise to
offer trainees. These individuals are junior and senior scientists
who have taken a special interest in the SCSP and are invited
to attend program functions to get to know the Scholars formally
and informally.
3.
The Longitudinal Clinical Research Seminar series provides formal
instruction to Scholars in a number of areas related to the
mentoring experience. The main thematic components of the seminar
series are Career, Personal, and Scientific Development; Grantsmanship;
Preparing and Presenting Research Findings; and Ethics in Clinical
Investigation.
Because
the role that you will play in your Scholar’s development
will be instrumental in determining his/her success as a clinical
researcher, and because high-quality mentoring is key to the overall
success of the SCSP, we are providing you with a booklet on mentoring—Advisor,
Teacher, Role Model, Friend—and ask that you sign and
return the attached form indicating your support for your Scholar.
[The
form includes signature lines for the mentor and student and must
be countersigned by the mentor’s department chairperson.]
Mentors
and incoming students are also required to attend a Student/Mentor
Orientation Session, before the program begins, to introduce them
to the program curriculum, policies, and governance. At this session
the composition and function of the student’s thesis committee
is also explained. Time is allotted for Q&A, and mentors are
given a complimentary copy of the book, “Adviser, Teacher,
Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and
Engineering,” published by National Academy Press,
which provides a useful example of how the Scholars Program views
the mentoring experience. Students and their mentors are also
given a Student/Mentor Handbook that describes the Scholars Program
in detail and provides a suggested timeline for completing the
program in two years.
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