Helping to define graduate education: the APS/ACDP list of professional skills for physiologists and trainees

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EditorialHelping to define graduate education: the APS/ACDP list of professional skills for physiologists and traineesRobert G. Carroll, Robert G. CarrollAdvances in Physiology Education Dept. of Physiology Brody School of Medicine, 6N-98 East Carolina University 600 Moye Blvd. Greenville, NC 27834 , Associate EditorPublished Online:01 Jun 2005https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00015.2005MoreSectionsPDF (23 KB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailWeChat Graduate training provides unique educational challenges and opportunities for physiologists. As teachers and mentors, physiologists direct most aspects of graduate training. This is in contrast to the role played by physiologists in most professional programs where physiologists are responsible for only a portion of the educational and professional training. Graduate training is also unique in that the trainees are expected to acquire a set of skills and competencies in addition to mastery of a core knowledge base. Graduate training relies heavily on a mentor model where experienced advisors model good ethical and scientific behavior and expect students to adopt these behaviors and attitudes as a part of their professional identity. Penny Hansen recently addressed these attributes of graduate education as part of the “hidden curriculum,” a group of expectations that are expected of our students but that are rarely explicitly communicated (Adv Physiol Educ 26: 139–145, 2002).In July 2002, the American Physiological Society (APS) Council directed the Education Committee to work with the Women in Physiology Committee and the Career Opportunities Committee to further explore the idea of competencies for graduate education. The three committee chairs (Robert Carroll, Carol Liedtke, and Frank Belloni) worked with the APS Education Office (Marsha Matyas and Melinda Lowy) and three representatives from the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology (ACDP), William H. Dantzler, Vernon S. Bishop, and William S. Spielman to develop a list of skills that help to define graduate education in physiology.The final product is divided into nine major categories:Core Biomedical Science KnowledgeProfessional EthicsLaboratory-Related SkillsResearch/Analytical SkillsCommunication SkillsTeaching and Mentoring SkillsPersonnel and Management SkillsLifelong Learning SkillsCareer Development SkillsThis list provides a set of expectations for use by mentors, students, and individuals at varying stages of their careers. The expectations are stratified, applying to master’s level students, doctoral students, and to postdoctoral trainees. The desired outcomes include intellectual skills, general technical skills, and communication skills. This project relied heavily on existing information and recommendations and adapted them to the needs of physiologists. It also provides a focus on the mentor’s commitment to promoting the development of those skills in students.Drafts of the document were circulated at the 2003 Experimental Biology meeting, and through groups within the APS and the ADCP. Following incorporation of recommendations, the final product was endorsed by the APS Council in November 2003 and the ACDP in December 2003. The final product is published jointly by the APS and ACDP, and is available at the APS web site at http://www.the-aps.org/education/skills.htm.This document is intended for a variety of audiences. Students may use the list as a form of self evaluation. This will enable students to be more proactive about focusing and monitoring their own training and career development. Faculty members may find the list a useful yardstick in measuring both their individual mentorship of students and in the development of overall departmental efforts and expected outcomes in preparing students for the 21st century job market. The APS Education Office is using the list to identify specific areas where resources can be developed to support graduate education. Finally, the list provides a baseline for future review and revision as critical skills change over time. Take a look to see if there are any new ideas for your graduate training program.This article has no references to display. Download PDF Previous Back to Top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedInformationCited ByEFFECT OF CONVENTIONAL TEACHING ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DIVERSE LEARNING STYLES15 December 2021 | PARIPEX INDIAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCHDeveloping a science outreach program and promoting “PhUn” all year with rural K–12 studentsJana L. Hendrickson, Thomas K. Bye, Benjamin A. 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DiCarlo1 June 2007 | Advances in Physiology Education, Vol. 31, No. 2 More from this issue > Volume 29Issue 2June 2005Pages 56-56 Copyright & Permissions© 2005 American Physiological Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00015.2005PubMed15905147History Published online 1 June 2005 Published in print 1 June 2005 Metrics