Applying Experiential Learning to Career Development Training for Biomedical Graduate Students and Postdocs: Perspectives on Program Development and Design

Wart, Audra Van; O'Brien, Theresa C.; Varvayanis, Susi; Alder, Janet; Greenier, Jennifer; Layton, Rebekah L.; Stayart, C. Abigail; Wefes, Inge; Brady, Ashley E.

doi:10.1187/cbe.19-12-0270

Cited by 39 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Therefore, the foci of these outward-facing efforts should be strategic to broaden networks and facilitate connections. Engaging external employer stakeholders in networking events, site visits, job shadowing, internships and panel discussions makes it possible for pre-and postdoctoral researchers to explore and test-drive various PhD careers (Fuhrmann et al, 2011;Meyers et al, 2016;Van Wart et al, 2020). This study provides useful tools and insights to address stakeholder engagement.…”

Section: External Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The process of identifying external employer stakeholders as well as engagement opportunities should include strategic consideration of the location of the institution. For example, universities located in urban areas with a high concentration of biopharma companies might develop mechanisms to promote pre-and postdoctoral researchers' biomedical expertise, valuable to local external stakeholders (Collins et al, 2020;Van Wart et al, 2020). Universities who are more isolated might organize a conference or trek to a more biotech-rich area (Butts & August, 2018;Van Wart et al, 2020).…”

Section: Stakeholder Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development

Ramadoss

Layton

et al. 2021

Preprint

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There is increasing awareness of the need for predoctoral and postdoctoral professional development and career guidance, however many academic institutions are only beginning to build out these functional roles. As a graduate career educator, accessing the vast silos and resources at a university and with industrial partners can be daunting, yet collaborative endeavors and network development both on and off campus are crucial to the success of any career and professional development office. To better inform and direct the efforts of graduate career offices, forty-five stakeholders external and internal to academic institutions were identified and interviewed to gather and categorize perspectives on topics critical to career and professional development offices. Using a stakeholder network visualization tool developed by this group, stakeholder engagement can be rapidly assessed to ascertain areas where offices have strong connections and other areas where additional efforts should be directed to enhance engagement. General themes from interviews with stakeholders are discussed to provide graduate career educators with various stakeholder group perspectives to help prepare for successful interactions. Benefits include increased engagement and opportunities to collaborate, as well as the opportunity to build or expand graduate career development offices.

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Section: External Stakeholdersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stakeholder Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development

Ramadoss

Layton

et al. 2021

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“…degrees in an academic medical center, we are able to provide an enriching learning experience for our graduate students by utilizing clinical and scientific expertise among faculty, research opportunities, and partnerships with cross-disciplinary academic departments, industry, and government agencies. Also, environments that provide specialized career and professional development opportunities and resources help students clarify their career goals, align their interests and skills, and broaden their networks [17]. Georgetown University Biomedical Graduate Education provides a full suite of career strategy resources including job search training, individual advising, document review for job applications and for advanced degree program essays, networking opportunities with alumni and employers, memberships to organizations, and leadership and management training.…”

Section: Perspectives and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An institutional analysis of graduate outcomes reveals a contemporary workforce footprint for biomedical master’s degrees

Hart

McKinney

2020

PLoS ONE

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There is continued growth in the number of master’s degrees awarded in the life sciences to address the evolving needs of the biomedical workforce. Academic medical centers leverage the expertise of their faculty and industry partners to develop one to two year intensive and multidisciplinary master’s programs that equip students with advanced scientific skills and practical training experiences. However, there is little data published on the outcomes of these graduates to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs and to inform the return on investment of students. Here, the authors show the first five-year career outlook for master of science graduates from programs housed at an academic medical center. Georgetown University Biomedical Graduate Education researchers analyzed the placement outcomes of 1,204 graduates from 2014–2018, and the two-year outcomes of 412 graduates from 2016 and 2017. From the 15 M.S. programs analyzed, they found that 69% of graduates entered the workforce, while 28% entered an advanced degree program such as a Ph.D., allopathic or osteopathic medicine (M.D. or D.O.), or health professions degree. International students who pursue advanced degrees largely pursued Ph.D. degrees, while domestic students represent the majority of students entering into medical programs. Researchers found that a majority of the alumni that entered the workforce pursue research-based work, with 59% of graduates conducting research-based job functions across industries. Forty-nine percent of employed graduates analyzed from 2016 and 2017 changed employment positions, while 15% entered advanced degree programs. Alumni that changed positions changed companies in the same job function, changed to a position of increasing responsibility in the same or different organization, or changed to a different job function in the same or different company. Overall, standalone master’s programs equip graduates with research skills, analytical prowess, and content expertise, strengthening the talent pipeline of the biomedical workforce.

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“…Another key adaptation involved the way in which trainees apply to attend a site visit. NIEHS began the original ELITE program in a manner similar to UC Berkeley's Postdoc Industry Exploration Program (Nature, 2011;Tsang & Fisher, 2011) which involved having those interested in the program submit a detailed biosketch to keep on file. The idea was that for each site visit, all biosketches would be reviewed and those with the closest match would be chosen to attend a visit.…”

Section: Program Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of having trainees visit local companies and industries has previously been established as good practice at several other institutions. The industry site visit program developed by postdoctoral scholars at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2010 (Abu-Yousif et al, 2010), and the Postdoc Industry Exploration Program (PIEP) developed by postdocs at the University of California, Berkeley (Nature, 2011;Tsang & Fisher, 2011) are examples of well-designed programs that directly expose postdocs to the type of research conducted and career paths available at a particular company, while at the same time giving them a glimpse of the company's culture and providing networking opportunities. Since the inception of these innovative programs, a number of other institutions have followed suit to create their own, such as the Exploration Program for Industry Careers (EPIC) program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (https://www.fredhutch.org/en/research/ education-training/office-of-scientific-career-development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating and sustaining collaborative multi-institutional industry site visit programs: a toolkit

et al. 2020

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Background: As more early career scientists enter into diverse career pathways, visiting local companies or organizations can support their exploration of these paths. As an efficient way to facilitate this, we developed a collaborative regional site visit program: the Enhancing Local Industry Transitions through Exploration (ELITE) Consortium. Consortium members arrange half-day visits to local industry sites, thus providing companies and trainees the opportunity to meet and identify potential professional and career opportunities. Three different training institutions worked cooperatively in the development and maintenance of the program. The ELITE Consortium was developed with eight phased steps; guidelines and operating procedures were created for each of these steps and are provided along with sample materials for institutions interested in building similar programs. Methods: Prior to fully developing the program, trainee interests were evaluated via questionnaire. During program implementation and thereafter, program directors tracked attendance and collected career outcome data from publicly available sources to identify first job positions after training. Regression analyses and chi-squared analyses were used to examine site visit matches and career outcome data. Results: Analyses suggest a positive impact of site visits on postdoctoral and graduate trainees’ career outcomes at companies or institutions that match a similar sector (e.g., for-profit) and type (e.g., biotech, pharmaceutical, contract research organization). Despite a small sample size, evidence suggests an especially positive impact on trainees who organize site visits to companies compared with those who simply participate. Conclusions: The ELITE Consortium was successful in helping trainees explore and identify a multitude of career paths. Trainees attained employment either directly or in related companies and institutions visited by ELITE participants. The joint, three-institution, flexible nature of the ELITE Consortium positively impacts the program’s sustainability and reach. The toolkit provided here will help other institutions to replicate and adapt the program with minimal effort.

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Applying Experiential Learning to Career Development Training for Biomedical Graduate Students and Postdocs: Perspectives on Program Development and Design

Cited by 39 publications

References 23 publications

Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development

Using Stakeholder Insights to Enhance Engagement in PhD Professional Development

An institutional analysis of graduate outcomes reveals a contemporary workforce footprint for biomedical master’s degrees

Creating and sustaining collaborative multi-institutional industry site visit programs: a toolkit

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