Independent investigator incubator (I 3 ): a comprehensive mentorship program to jumpstart productive research careers for junior faculty

In the highly competitive environment of academic medicine, junior faculty investigators face high attrition rates due to challenges in finding effective mentorship, securing grant funding, and obtaining resources to support their career development and research productivity. The purpose of this stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC medical education 2018-08, Vol.18 (1), p.186-186, Article 186
Main Authors: Spence, John Paul, Buddenbaum, Jennifer L, Bice, Paula J, Welch, Julie L, Carroll, Aaron E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Author productivity
Career Choice
Career Development
Career development planning
Career Mobility
Career Planning
Departments
Education
Faculty, Medical - education
Funding
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Junior faculty
Medical research
Medicine
Mentoring
Mentoring - economics
Mentoring - organization & administration
Mentors
Organizational Culture
Pilot Projects
Plastic surgery
Postdoctoral Education
Professional development
Program Development - economics
Program Evaluation
Research Personnel - economics
Research Personnel - education
Research Support as Topic - economics
Scientists
Success
Translational research
Womens health
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Summary:In the highly competitive environment of academic medicine, junior faculty investigators face high attrition rates due to challenges in finding effective mentorship, securing grant funding, and obtaining resources to support their career development and research productivity. The purpose of this study was to describe the centralized, cost-sharing design of the Independent Investigator Incubator (I ) program as a novel approach to junior faculty mentoring and to evaluate quantitative outcomes for program improvement. In September 2014, the I pilot program, a comprehensive mentorship program targeting junior faculty pursuing research careers, was launched. Participants included junior faculty during the crucial first three years of their research careers or during their transition from career development awards to more independent research. Following initial screening, the I mentees were paired with a senior faculty "super-mentor" with expertise in either basic science or clinical research. Mentees were provided with robust traditional one-on-one mentoring, targeted feedback from a super-mentor review committee, as well as biostatistician and grant writing support. To assess the effectiveness of the I program, we tracked outcome measures via baseline and 12-month mentee surveys. Data collected assessed program diversity, mentee self-assessments, evaluation of the mentoring relationship, scholarship and productivity metrics. Raw data were analyzed using a paired t-test in Excel (P 
ISSN:1472-6920
1472-6920
DOI:10.1186/s12909-018-1290-3