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Reflections on a career as graduate mentor-from baby steps at Wisconsin to today.

ABSTRACT: Graduate education is an important aspect of the life of most academic scientists and a serious responsibility because it comes with the obligation to help students achieve their career and life goals. It can also be very fulfilling for the graduate mentor in terms of personal satisfaction and advancement of the research program. Learning to be a good major professor is an active process that depends on developing a formal framework of education and modifying that framework for each student based on past experiences and experimentation, advice from colleagues, and the individual personality of the student. Perhaps most important is for the graduate mentor to buy into the success and well-being of the student. Among the characteristics that a major professor could seek to instill in his or her students are critical and independent thinking, self-confidence, a thick skin, teamwork, laboratory skills and understanding, and the ability for hard work. Work to make science joyful by celebrating accomplishments, creating a fun environment in the lab, and stressing the societal value of science as compared to personal rewards or ambition.

SUBMITTER: Hansen PJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10257352 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reflections on a career as graduate mentor-from baby steps at Wisconsin to today.

Hansen Peter J PJ

Journal of animal science 20230101

Graduate education is an important aspect of the life of most academic scientists and a serious responsibility because it comes with the obligation to help students achieve their career and life goals. It can also be very fulfilling for the graduate mentor in terms of personal satisfaction and advancement of the research program. Learning to be a good major professor is an active process that depends on developing a formal framework of education and modifying that framework for each student base ...[more]

PMID: 37119281

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Project description:BackgroundIn South Africa, newly qualified physiotherapists transition to the workplace during community service, often in diverse healthcare settings, attending to patients with complex ailments. The transition is complicated by the shortage of rehabilitation personnel, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. While higher education curricula should prepare students for the workplace, the roles and expectations of new therapists remain unclear. Assessing how well current curricula, built around the CanMEDS framework, equip students with the competencies needed for entry-level community service practice will help to improve physiotherapy training practices. This study investigated the experiences of community service physiotherapists to inform curriculum design and graduate outcomes.MethodsA descriptive qualitative study was conducted. Graduates were purposefully sampled during their community service year via a class group contact, with a snowball approach to recruit diverse participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted over MS Teams, recorded, and transcribed. Reflexive deductive coding was used to interpret the data, which was analysed around the CanMEDS roles and graduate outcomes, as well as curriculum constraints and enablers to the workplace transition.ResultsTen community service physiotherapists placed in five different provinces participated. Most identified strongly with their core role as clinicians and felt prepared in terms of clinical skills. However, aspects of roles linked to advocacy, leadership, and professionalism were more complex to navigate. The contexts of placements and the nuances of how the healthcare system operated in each province impacted their experience.ConclusionThe study highlighted varied readiness levels among community service physiotherapists. While many felt competent in specific clinical tasks, there are significant gaps in their preparation for broader community practice challenges. Participants noted their undergraduate training adequately prepared them for the clinician role but not for roles integrating collaboration, communication, patient and professional advocacy. Quality clinical placements and the role of educators were crucial, yet the protective nature of these placements limited exposure to real-world scenarios. Insufficient mentorship and support contributed to feelings of isolation. To enhance preparedness, the curriculum should integrate more experiences addressing real-world challenges, which value multiple competencies and outcomes. Future research should examine the development of context-appropriate competency frameworks and long-term effects of community service on career development.

Project description:IntroductionTo implement and evaluate a blended online and in-person training to help mentors of early-career researchers appreciate the complexities of Tobacco Regulatory Science (TRS), refine TRS mentoring skills, and become acquainted with resources for providing effective guidance to TRS mentees.MethodsTRS mentors engaged in a two-part pilot test of the training program. Authors evaluated both the online and in-person training using retrospective pre-post evaluations, which measure learning at the conclusion of a training program, and post-program focus groups. Twenty learners completed the online training, and 16 learners attended the in-person training module. Nine participants completed evaluations for the online module, and 12 participants completed evaluations for the in-person module.ResultsProgram assessments revealed that participants found that the training achieved its overall goals. The majority of respondents (87.5%) rated the online portion of the training as valuable. For the in-person training, participants reported statistically significant improvements regarding confidence in: helping mentees to identify skills and training to effectively pursue TRS, assisting mentees in weighing career trajectories, and guiding mentees in conducting research responsive to TRS regulatory priorities.ConclusionsThe novel mentoring program was well received by faculty seeking to strengthen skills for mentoring early-career TRS researchers to navigate the complex landscape of TRS, explore diverse funding opportunities, and discern potential career trajectories. It provided unique content to address issues outside the traditional tobacco research training curriculum and offered specific information on regulatory policies, priorities, and opportunities.ImplicationsThis research documents the deployment and evaluation of a blended online and in-person training program for investigators mentoring early-career researchers working in TRS. Our assessment discovered that participants found the training to be valuable to their overall mentoring objectives. The training comprises a novel curriculum for investigators engaged in mentoring early-career researchers in a unique field, thus filling a deficit in the published literature by presenting a curriculum that has been customized to the unique needs of TRS mentors.

Dataset Information

Reflections on a career as graduate mentor-from baby steps at Wisconsin to today.

Publications

Reflections on a career as graduate mentor-from baby steps at Wisconsin to today.

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