A structured professional development curriculum for postdoctoral fellows leads to recognized knowledge growth

Postdoctoral training enables research independence and professional readiness. National reports have emphasized professional development as a critical component of this training period. In response, many institutions are establishing transferable skills training workshops for postdocs; however, the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one Vol. 16; no. 11; p. e0260212
Main Authors: Steen, Kaylee, Vornhagen, Jay, Weinberg, Zara Y., Boulanger-Bertolus, Julie, Rao, Arvind, Gardner, Margery Evans, Subramanian, Shoba
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 22.11.2021
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Academic careers
Biology and Life Sciences
Career Mobility
Careers
Critical components
Curricula
Curriculum
Developmental biology
Education, Professional
Engineering and Technology
Humans
Knowledge
Leadership
Medical schools
Multiple criterion
People and Places
Postdoctoral education
Professional development
Research and Analysis Methods
Research Personnel
Self Report
Skills
Social Sciences
Structured programming
Study and teaching
Training
United States
Ann Arbor Michigan
United States > US
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Postdoctoral training enables research independence and professional readiness. National reports have emphasized professional development as a critical component of this training period. In response, many institutions are establishing transferable skills training workshops for postdocs; however, the lack of structured programs and an absence of methods to assess outcomes beyond participant satisfaction surveys are critical gaps in postdoctoral training. To address these shortcomings, we took the approach of structured programming and developed a method for controlled assessment of outcomes. Our program You 3 (You, Your Team, Your Project), co-designed by postdoctoral fellows, focused on discussing specific management and leadership skills agnostic of ultimate career path(s) in a structured manner. We then measured outcomes in a controlled manner, by systematically comparing perceived knowledge and growth as indicators of awareness and confidence in participants against that of non-participants as the control group. You 3 participants self-rated greater growth in targeted competencies compared to non-participants independent of the number of years of training. This growth was shown by multiple criteria including self-reporting and associative analysis. Correspondingly, You 3 participants reported greater knowledge in 75% of the modules when compared to controls. These data indicate that structured learning, where postdocs commit to a curriculum via a cohort-structure, leads to positive outcomes and provides a framework for programs to assess outcomes in a rigorous manner.
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Current address: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States of America
Current address: Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0260212