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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Acad Med. 2018 Apr;93(4):565–573. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000001950

List 1.

Recommendations of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine Consensus Conference on the PS Workforce, November 2015

Increasing entry into the PS pipeline

  1. Promote to young people the value of biomedical research and the important and unique role that PSs play in biomedical advances.

  2. Facilitate the recruitment and retention of members from diverse populations as PSs through wide-scale implementation of programs that provide access to a network of role models and mentors.

  3. Enhance opportunities for international PSs to enter and remain in the United States as members of the nation’s workforce.

  4. Promote efficiency and curricular best practices in the training of PSs.

  5. Enhance undergraduate and postgraduate research training opportunities for trainees who do not matriculate into MD/PhD programs.

Reducing attrition from the PS workforce

  1. Implement formalized mentoring programs, including “mentoring the mentor” training, and periodic reviews of mentoring results.

  2. Establish grant programs specifically targeted to supporting the PS transitioning from training to an independent research career.

  3. Expand student loan repayment opportunities for individuals who are awarded an NIH or a VA career development grant.

  4. Provide salary support for mentors named on career development awards.

  5. Assure department-wide salary equity among PSs.

  6. Provide a stable environment for PS faculty to become independent researchers through provision of protected time and, when necessary, bridge funding.

  7. Reconsider criteria for P&T to accommodate the changing environment for PSs’ contributions to biomedical advances and be transparent in P&T decision-making processes.

  8. Pursue new avenues for research and research funding, including expanding partnerships with industry.

  9. Establish a repository for PS career development data.

Abbreviations: PS indicates physician-scientist; NIH, National Institutes of Health; VA, Department of Veterans Affairs; P&T, promotion and tenure.