BBTAD Training Program
Mechanisms for Coordinating and Monitoring Individualized Training
Although all BBTAD Trainees participate in the same curriculum and meet the same expectations with regard to research experiences and products, it is desirable for each trainee to have some postdoctoral experiences that build on each their unique strengths, experiences, and research career goals. Individualization of the BBTAD Training Program is accomplished via three key elements: (a) selection of a Primary Mentor and a Mentor Committee; (b) development of a Plans and Goals Statement; and (c) implementation of a monitoring program.
Primary Mentor. A candidate is accepted into the BBTAD Training Program only if one or more of the BBTAD Training Faculty has research interests that serve the candidate's training needs. A potential Primary Mentor is identified initially by the BBTAD Admissions Committee through a review of the application materials and a telephone interview with the potential trainee. If a match is identified, the Primary Mentor contacts the candidate to discuss mutual interests, program requirements, and, in a preliminary way, possible collaborative and trainee-initiated research projects. If the Primary Mentor agrees to sponsor the candidate, the candidate's application is evaluated for final acceptance by the Admissions Committee.
Mentor Committee. Each trainee is assigned a three-member Mentor Committee. This committee is chaired by the Primary Mentor and includes two other members of the BBTAD Training Faculty, with the constraints that one member of the BBTAD Executive Committee is represented and that at least one Ph.D. and one M.D. Training Faculty member are represented. The purpose of the Mentor Committee is to advise the Primary Mentor concerning the trainee's program and to evaluate, in conjunction with the Primary Mentor, the trainee's progress in the program. Including a member of the BBTAD Executive Committee on each Mentor Committee ensures consistency in expectations, mentoring, and monitoring across Trainees, and adherence of the trainee and Mentor Committee to the goals of the training program. Requiring both Ph.D. and M.D. Training Faculty members on the Mentor Committee allows the Trainees to gain the mix of perspectives that is useful as they pursue careers in which they will need to interact effectively with persons of both disciplinary backgrounds.
Plans and Goals Statement. Each year, Trainees are responsible for developing, in collaboration with the Primary Mentor, a Plans and Goals Statement. This statement is a detailed, written document specifying the trainee's planned research activities, anticipated products (e.g., papers to be written), and any courses to be taken (in addition to those in the core curriculum), along with a timeline for completion. The statement is written within the first two months of the fall of each training year and is submitted to the trainee's Mentor Committee for comment and approval. Once approved, the trainee makes an oral presentation of the plan to the full faculty at a faculty meeting at the end of the fall semester. This presentation allows the faculty an opportunity to provide feedback on the plan and allows the trainee and faculty members to become more familiar with each other, which leads to even more opportunities for collaboration and mentoring. In the second semester and every semester thereafter, the trainee and Mentor Committee review the statement and modify it as necessary. The Plans and Goals Statement is an important part of the process of evaluating each trainee's progress in the program.
Monitoring Trainees' Progress. At the end of a trainee's second semester in the program, the trainee's progress toward meeting the goals and timelines established in the Plans and Goals Statement is reviewed by the Primary Mentor and Mentor Committee. The Primary Mentor then summarizes the trainee's progress at a meeting of the full program faculty that same semester. Any concerns about the trainee's progress, along with suggestions for remediation, are shared in writing with the trainee and discussed with him or her at a meeting attended by the Primary Mentor and the Training Faculty.
Trainees who do not make satisfactory progress during each year of the traineeship period are not be renewed for subsequent years. Importantly, included in the requirements for each year of the traineeship is the completion of tangible products, such as a presentation at a scientific conference and submission of a manuscript to a scientific journal. These requirements provide the Mentor Committee an objective measure of each trainee's progress.
