Biological Sciences Division
Published July 15, 2021 | Version v1
Journal article Open

A cross-institutional analysis of the effects of broadening trainee professional development on research productivity

Creators

  • 1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • 2. Cornell University
  • 3. University of Rochester
  • 4. Boston University
  • 5. Rutgers University
  • 6. Vanderbilt University
  • 7. University of Chicago
  • 8. University of California, Irvine
  • 9. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • 10. Wayne State University

Description

PhD-trained scientists are essential contributors to the workforce in diverse employment sectors that include academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. Hence, best practices for training the future biomedical workforce are of national concern. Complementing coursework and laboratory research training, many institutions now offer professional training that enables career exploration and develops a broad set of skills critical to various career paths. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded academic institutions to design innovative programming to enable this professional development through a mechanism known as Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST). Programming at the NIH BEST awardee institutions included career panels, skill-building workshops, job search workshops, site visits, and internships. Because doctoral training is lengthy and requires focused attention on dissertation research, an initial concern was that students participating in additional complementary training activities might exhibit an increased time to degree or diminished research productivity. Metrics were analyzed from 10 NIH BEST awardee institutions to address this concern, using time to degree and publication records as measures of efficiency and productivity. Comparing doctoral students who participated to those who did not, results revealed that across these diverse academic institutions, there were no differences in time to degree or manuscript output. Our findings support the policy that doctoral students should participate in career and professional development opportunities that are intended to prepare them for a variety of diverse and important careers in the workforce.

Data availability

All data used for analyses reported in this paper are available from the Open Science Framework database https://osf.io/qy3pa/.

Files

journal.pbio.3000956.pdf

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Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1371/journal.pbio.3000956
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:5950

Funding

National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award
National Institutes of Health
General Medical Sciences - Science of Science Policy Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise (SCISIPBIO) Award

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Biological Sciences Division
Department(s)
Human Genetics