Professional Development Core

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PROJECT SUMMARY: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORE The incorporation of professional development education into current pre- and postdoctoral training programs requires a paradigm shift from outdated strategies that rely on passive didactic learning environments or top- down training from a single mentor. The Professional Development Core of the Chicago Kidney Urology Hematology network FOR city-Wide reseArch tRaining and career Development (Chicago KUH FORWARD) will augment cross-disciplinary mentorship and hands-on research experiences with a transformative professional development program that leverages adult learning theory, emphasizes active participation through faculty- and peer-led small group settings and deploys experiential learning approaches for career development training. The overarching goal of the Professional Development Core is to advance the professional skills of trainees essential for ensuring successful careers in the KUH fields. Strategies to accomplish the Core's objectives include active learning in small group settings; opportunities for acquisition of discipline-specific and interdisciplinary knowledge and new skills in team science, technology innovation and entrepreneurship; individualized career planning; and tailored experiences that encourage career exploration in a cross-disciplinary setting. The deliberately selected Core activities form a rich matrix of professional development resources that map to the Chicago KUH FORWARD basic and interdisciplinary core competencies. The Specific Aims of the Core are: 1) To build professional skills using an active learner model that leverages both faculty-to-trainee and peer-to-peer interactions; 2) To deliver both core and tailored didactic programs for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills to enhance trainee competitiveness in the transition to independent investigator; 3) To enhance career exploration and planning that optimizes post-training placement, career satisfaction, sustained professional development, and contribution to the KUH fields; and 4) To train faculty mentors to adopt mentoring best practices and to provide mentorship training to trainees. The Professional Development Core will be co-led by Drs. Aline Martin and Robert Liem, whose collective experiences in mentoring trainees across the spectrum of career development will serve them well in overseeing the implementation, management and evaluation of the Specific Aims. Drs. Martin and Liem will be assisted by experts in teaching grant writing skills to trainees, STEM education, interdisciplinary graduate training, and mentor development. Continuous cycles of evaluations and refinement of strategic approaches will ensure that Core activities are well integrated across all institutions, in line with overall vision and mission of Chicago KUH FORWARD and complement the goals of the Network and Training Cores. In synergizing with Chicagoland CTSA-funded institutions and the NIGMS-funded Postdoc Academy, the Professional Development Core will increase trainee competitiveness, support successful career transitions, improve retention of trainees in research settings and, ultimately, enhance research impact in the KUH fields.