The blastocyst re-expansion status after thawing do not seem to affect the clinical outcomes in freeze all preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) cycles

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Strong mentorship may improve the success of academic Obstetrics and Gynecology faculty and has the potential to decrease faculty turnover. Yet many junior faculty report that they do not have a mentor. One proposed solution is an institutional mentorship program for junior faculty, but there are few reports of successful programs in the specialty.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the initial impact of a mentorship program curriculum developed in the Department of Gyn/OB at Johns Hopkins to enhance the training of the next generation of clinical and research scientists in Obstetrics and Gynecology.MATERIAL AND METHODS: We developed a specialty-specific departmental mentorship program tailored to obstetricians and gynecologists that was based on ranked areas of interest of junior faculty and subspecialty fellows (Gyn/OB, Reproductive Scientist). The curriculum consisted of monthly interactive workshops and seminars over a threeyear rotational schedule to coincide with the 3-year duration of fellowship training in the specialty. Themes included research, education and leadership in academic obstetrics and gynecology. There was a strong emphasis on participatory exercises for trainees in subject matter. Examples of curriculum topics include manuscript publication and review, grant writing, working with the IRB, promotion, core teaching skills, and time management. The research was IRB-approved. Pre-and postcourse questionnaires assessed participants' confidence in skills related to the course topics. Generalized linear models were used to assess change in post course response, using each question as the dependent variable and an indicator for post-course as the predictor variable. The control group was comprised of junior faculty and fellows in the Gyn/ OB department before the course was initiated for an identical threeyear duration of time. Outcome measures included the number of published papers and the impact factor of the journal in which the published manuscripts appeared. A Wilcoxon-rank-sum test was used to assess outcome measures. All tests were two sided and were performed at 0.05 level of statistical significance.RESULTS: Of the 118 attendees over the three-year course, 26 (22.0%) were junior faculty, 35 (29.66%) clinical fellows, 28 (23.7%) research fellows, other research staff or students. For each three-year course series, an average of 20 junior faculty and clinical fellows completed the post-course surveys, of which 72% were clinical fellows, 22% assistant professors and 5% instructors. The data revealed a statistically significant change in the participant's overall confidence in skills related to research, education and leadership when comparing the cumulative results from the pre-to-post course surveys (P<0.001). Specifically, participants noted improved confidence in their skills related to clinical and translation research (P<0.001) and leadership and academic career advancement (P¼0.001). Additionally, junior faculty and clinical fellows who attended the course had a higher number of publicat...