Abstract
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 You3 (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. You3 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, You3 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.
Highlights
Postdoctoral training is a unique period that is defined by the National Postdoctoral Association as “temporary time for scholarly work as well as acquisition of professional skills for career success”
A well-rounded portfolio is especially important in current times, where less than 25% of the PhD graduates move on to a tenure track (TT) position, while the rest pursue a distinct array of individual paths [7]
Our results show that participants increased their awareness and confidence in key transferable skills, when compared to the control population who did not participate in our program
Summary
Postdoctoral training is a unique period that is defined by the National Postdoctoral Association (nationalpostdoc.org) as “temporary time for scholarly work as well as acquisition of professional skills for career success”. The importance of technical skills has been recognized for many years, growing evidence shows non-technical skills, known as transferable skills, are vital to succeeding as a professional during and beyond training [1,2,3,4,5]. Postdocs are hired by individual faculty advisors and do not typically enter the academic system as part of a cohort They start their appointments asynchronously, and the orientation, onboarding routines, and access to non-research resources are highly variable within and across academic units. The lack of structured professional skill development opportunities underserve the nearly 80% of PhD students in biomedicine that go on to do postdoctoral training [8] Many institutions face these limitations [9], due to a combination of constraints on incentives, resources, personnel, and budget. Even in the case where there are more professional development resources to build programs, both access to and utilization of these programs vary heavily depending on the individual trainee’s circumstances
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