Table 3.
Summary of trainee comments
| Proposed program element | Sample quote (respondent training program of author identified in parentheses) |
|---|---|
| Additional program knowledge and skills | “Time management-forget life balances–just time management to meet the demands of managing a project, publication, teaching, etc.” (K01) |
| “Family schedules and considerations” (K07) | |
| “Time management; milestones for career and within grant” (K07) | |
| “Goal setting, i.e., setting realistic, measurable aims with testable hypotheses that can be done in realistic time frame” (K01) | |
| “Quantitative and translational workshops” (K01) | |
| “Understanding academic structure” (K01) | |
| “Understanding NIH structure” (K01) | |
| “Problems with MTA s and grants and contracts issues, general cancer biology programs, understanding pharma industry” (K08) | |
| Mentors | “Inclusion of qualified minority mentors” (K01) |
| “For mentors, it is very important to facilitate networking for your mentees (K01) | |
| Career transitions | |
| “When the mentor–mentee relationship changes from a working to a nonworking status during the K07 award period, what strategies/options are available to the mentees in addressing these challenges” (K07) | |
| “This is all wonderful [but] might also want to include segments on navigating the K to R transition” (K07) | |
| Additional program activities | “A mock study section panel that reviews the finished proposal” (K01) |
| “Mock study sections” (K08) | |
| “Meeting with NIH program officers, understanding the context of the grant review” (K01) | |
| “Important to offer a refresher to for those about to enter the third year of their K and provide similar training about next steps” (K01) | |
| Constraints to program participation | “Funding is an issue to be away from the job for more than 1 week” (K01) |
| [In response to question about optimal program duration] “it would have been ok with my home institution for more than 1 week, but not ok with me” (K01) | |
| “While this type of education in general looks great on K career development plans, the major hold-up is that it is not feasible with the small amount of funds available with the K awards to pay for the tuition plus airfare plus food and several nights at a hotel. I do not think I could budget for more than 1 week, unless there was financial support” (K07)” | |
| Challenge program need | “The proposed program has overlap with other programs that are offered by other organizations, including the NIH/NCI and ACSB. There programs are excellent [and] should be researched before implementing a new program that seems to offer the same training” (K01) |
| “I am currently in the independent phase and so will be less applicable” (K01) | |
| “Despite being incredibly well intentioned, my honest opinion is that this will [not] be a productive use of time given the constraints on physician scientists” (K08) | |
| “Many K08 awardees conduct basic science research with a small translational component. Aside from career planning, it is unclear how your program addresses the needs of bench researchers (K08) | |
| Affirming proposed program | “I could see that visiting another institution like UM would be useful to develop some new technical skills that could possible enhance my research project, as could very specific courses on molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways implicated in breast cancer. My project is interdisciplinary, and relies heavily on combining aspects of my skills with the strengths of others-I learn best from hands-on interactions. In addition, workshops that focus on career development, career choices and ways to find jobs outside of academic (given that only about 20% of Ph.D.s get the coveted tenure track positions would be helpful. Thanks!” (DoD) |