Tisch Cancer Institute Scholars Program: Mentored Cancer Research Training Pipeline for Medical Students

Evaluation of a student clinical research education program in addiction medicine

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate an experiential student clinical addiction research program by analyzing its components, evaluation survey data, and scientific outputs.

METHODS

In 1995, we established a summer research program supporting trainees to gain exposure to clinical addiction research careers. This curriculum employed a three-pronged approach that combined mentored research training, didactic education, and clinical observerships for medical students and other trainees to acquire experience with addiction medicine and research. Utilizing the Kirkpatrick model as program evaluation framework, we analyzed evaluation data from programmatic surveys (didactic seminar evaluations, overall program surveys) and conducted qualitative feedback exploration.

RESULTS

Between 2007 and 2019, 56 trainees and 26 faculty mentors participated in the curriculum. To date, 25 students published 38 papers with their faculty mentor. Analysis of the past 12 years of program evaluation data demonstrated that students highly valued individually-mentored research experiences. They indicated that seminars familiarized them with the foundations of different clinical care models and career trajectories in addiction medicine. Clinical observerships provided students with patient contacts in various multidisciplinary addiction treatment settings. These experiences, perhaps most importantly hearing about patients' lived experiences, meaningfully informed various research and didactic activities.

CONCLUSIONS

This summer student research program successfully introduced students to addiction medicine and research, manifested by high peer-reviewed publication productivity. While our program engaged and involved committed mentors and inspired mentees to pursue professional paths in addiction research, it did not specifically incorporate attention to equity and diversity into program planning and implementation. Going forward, the program will improve equity by increasing the recruitment of trainees from disadvantaged groups and engaging underrepresented faculty.KEY MESSAGESSummer programs can be effective in engaging medical students and trainees in research early in their trajectory and inspire them to incorporate research into their careers.Programs that integrate experiential addiction research learning, i.e. mentored research activities, didactic sessions, and clinical observerships, can provide trainees with a profound understanding of substance use disorder treatment and research.

Building Capacity in Implementation Science for Cancer Prevention and Control Through a Research Network Scholars Program

Building capacity of researchers and practitioners in the dissemination and implementation (D&I) of evidence-based interventions is greatly needed to improve cancer prevention and control. A diverse workforce trained in D&I science is critical for improving cancer outcomes and reducing cancer-related health disparities. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network (CPCRN) Scholars Program aimed at training students, researchers, and practitioners in D&I for cancer prevention and control launched in 2021. The purpose of this paper is to describe the creation of the training program, curriculum, and evaluation plans, and to present the baseline results and lessons learned. CPCRN investigator and partner input and formative interviews (n = 16) with assistant professors, postdoctoral fellow, doctoral and undergraduate students, and a program manager guided development of the program. Twenty of 24 applicants were accepted into the inaugural year of the program. The majority of accepted scholars identified as female (80%) and were graduate students (50%). Thirty-five percent were of racially diverse backgrounds. Most self-rated their previous D&I experience and competencies at a beginner level. The multi-step approach used for development of this training program and lessons learned will be helpful for others collaborating on preparing the research and practice workforce in D&I science.

Mentoring Medical Education Research: Guidelines from a Narrative Review

Mentorship is critical to develop research scholars. Current literature provides mentorship guidance for biomedical research; however, mentorship for educational research is scarce. We explored literature to offer evidence-based guidance for medical education research mentors. A librarian searched peer-reviewed literature from 2001 to 2021 to identify guidelines for research mentors. Thirty-five articles were included in this narrative review. Our results identified attributes of mentors, overlapping roles, and barriers and benefits of mentoring. The structures and processes related to mentoring are reviewed and applicability to medical education research mentorship is summarized.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01565-2.

Coaching tailored by stages: A valuable educational strategy to achieve independence in research

This study presents an individualized coaching approach tailored to the stages of proximity of promising scientists interested in becoming independently funded researchers in the context of a minority-serving institution. This strategy defined the participant’s stage of proximity by their number of first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and their track record in submitting research grants. We argue that coaching tailored by stages is an asset to maintain the enthusiasm, persistence, and positive attitude of promising scientists as they try to reach independent investigator status. Furthermore, this valuable educational approach supports the development of management and leadership skills in defined scientific domains.