The Rockefeller Team Science Leadership training program: Curriculum, standardized assessment of competencies, and impact of returning assessments

Abstract

The ability to effectively lead an interdisciplinary translational team is a crucial component of team science success. Most KL2 Clinical Scholars have been members of scientific teams, but few have been team science leaders. There is a dearth of literature and outcome measures of effective Team Science Leadership in clinical and translational research. We focused our curriculum to emphasize Team Science Leadership, developed a list of Team Science Leadership competencies for translational investigators using a modified Delphi method, and incorporated the competencies into a quantitative evaluation survey. The survey is completed on entry and annually thereafter by the Scholar; the Scholar's primary mentor and senior staff who educate and interact with the Scholar rate the Scholar at the end of each year. The program leaders and mentor review the results with each Scholar. The survey scales had high internal consistency and good factor structure. Overall ratings by mentors and senior staff were generally high, but ratings by Scholars tended to be lower, offering opportunities for discussion and career planning. Scholars rated the process favorably. A Team Science Leadership curriculum and periodic survey of attained competencies can inform individual career development and guide team science curriculum development.

Competencies supporting high-performance translational teams: A review of the SciTS evidence base

“…Many team science training interventions are focused on individual-focused training; however, we contend that the greatest impact on team performance will be on providing relevant training to teams on team-emergent skills that are strongly linked to performance. Training focused on teams is beginning to be developed, where training improves self-efficacy, leadership qualities in health care [153][154][155] and in the CTSA environment [7,126]. The extent to which these interventions can be applied to the leadership of TTs resulting in enhanced performance is just beginning to be evaluated [7].…”

“…Training focused on teams is beginning to be developed, where training improves self-efficacy, leadership qualities in health care [153][154][155] and in the CTSA environment [7,126]. The extent to which these interventions can be applied to the leadership of TTs resulting in enhanced performance is just beginning to be evaluated [7].…”

“…To initially address this question, an expert panel of members from a CTSA Team Science Affinity Workgroup and CTSA-sponsored Domain Task Force used a comprehensive literature review and modified Delphi method to identify individual and team-emergent competency "domains." This work separated competencies needed by an individual to effectively participate in the TT from those emerging as a consequence of team member interactions [4,7]. These latter team-emergent competency domains are as follows: 1).…”

A leadership model supporting maturation of high-performance translational teams

“…We are aware of earlier work developing a training and assessment model for team leadership developed from a needs assessment of KL2 trainees [104]. However, that model is not connected to a robust assessment of team-focused competencies, nor does it account for appropriate behaviors that address distinct team goals as they mature.…”

Building an infrastructure to support the development, conduct, and reporting of informative clinical studies: The Rockefeller University experience

“…Separate from their TRN advisory activities, as indicated in Figure 1, TSEs also provide important services to directly support the conduct of protocols, and play vital roles in educating the Clinical Scholars and assessing their progress in mastering Team Science Leadership competencies. 26 Initiatives under development include opportunities for Clinical Scholars to participate in, and lead, research teams that include practicing clinicians and other service providers, including gaining experience in training community-based collaborators in human participant research while learning about community health needs directly from clinicians and their patients. This experience will inform future implementation science studies that design and compare alternative strategies to implement, scale-up, and sustain innovations developed in the laboratories at Rockefeller.…”