Mastery of written and oral communication skills is essential for the survival of faculty everywhere. It can be a challenge for scientists from any background, but may be especially difficult for those who are educationally under-prepared or who have had limited exposure to standard academic English. Teaching such skills typically falls to mentors, who often find this task labor intensive and frustrating, with few tools available. Non-native English-speaking mentors may have particular difficulty, but even mentors with excellent English-language skills may not know how to teach these skills effectively. Unfortunately, struggling unsuccessfully with these skills can have multiple negative impacts on trainees and their mentors. For these reasons, the critical gap we address is identification of mentor and trainee factors that influence trainee scientific communication skills development, including response to being identified for training, particularly if such factors contribute to the historical lack of minority representation In science and academia. Participants will be drawn from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center with additional underrepresented trainees recruited from nearby institutions.
The aims are to (1) Assess trainees'practices, attitudes, confidence, and needs in scientific communication from a cross-section of 1300 research graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, using an online survey and comparing across trainee categories (e.g., race-ethnicity, gender, education, language status);and (2) Assess mentors' practices, attitudes, and confidence In developing trainees'scientific communication skills from a sample of 550 current and recent mentors compared across rank, gender, race and ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics, including language status. Results will help us develop needs assessment tools in scientific communication skill development, and lay the foundation for creating and adapting educational activities. In future, we will design an educational curriculum in scientific communication culturally and linguistically appropriate for mentors and trainees to integrate into existing activities. In creating such a curriculum. we can test the hypothesis that mentors can coach trainees more effectively in written and oral communication skills when they have detailed. objective evaluations of their trainees' communication skills. Such culturally appropriate tools and strategies for mentoring can enable mentors to provide more individualized coaching and referral to expert teaching, if necessary. We expect that this innovative method will help mentors of all trainees, but be especially effective in launching careers of investigators at high risk for failure due to weak communication skills.

Public Health Relevance

Mastery of written and oral communication skills is essential for the survival of research faculty everywhere, including junior scientists, and may be a particular challenge for those who are educationally under-prepared or who have had limited exposure to standard academic English. Unfortunately, struggling unsuccessfully with these skills can have multiple negative impacts on trainees, their mentors, and their mentoring relationships. For these reasons, the critical gap that we will address is the identification of both mentor and trainee factors that influence trainee scientific communication skills development for future intervention, particularly if such factors playa role in the historical lack of minority representation in science and academia.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01GM085600-01A1
Application #
7728449
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZGM1-MORE-4 (RI))
Program Officer
Singh, Shiva P
Project Start
2009-09-30
Project End
2011-08-31
Budget Start
2009-09-30
Budget End
2010-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$384,968
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800772139
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
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Chang, Shine; Baldwin, Constance D; Cameron, Carrie (2015) Mentoring mentors in scientific communication for trainees. Acad Med 90:265
Cameron, Carrie; Lee, Hwa Young; Anderson, Cheryl et al. (2015) The Role of Scientific Communication Skills in Trainees' Intention to Pursue Biomedical Research Careers: A Social Cognitive Analysis. CBE Life Sci Educ 14:ar46
Cameron, Carrie; Collie, Candice L; Baldwin, Constance D et al. (2013) The development of scientific communication skills: a qualitative study of the perceptions of trainees and their mentors. Acad Med 88:1499-506
Blazer, Kathleen R; Clague, Jessica; Collie, Candice L et al. (2010) ""Future directions in cancer prevention and control: workforce implications for training, practice, and policy"" symposium, October 17 to 18, 2009, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 19:1655-60