Improving Retention of Minority Trainees: Mentoring in Scientific Communications

掌握书面和口头沟通技巧对于教师的生存至关重要 无处不在。对于任何背景的科学家来说，这都可能是一个挑战，但可能尤其如此 对于那些在教育上准备不足或接触有限的人来说是困难的 标准学术英语。教授这些技能通常由导师负责，他们经常发现这一点 任务是劳动密集型且令人沮丧的，可用的工具很少。非英语母语者 导师可能会遇到特别困难，但即使是英语语言能力出色的导师 可能不知道如何有效地教授这些技能。不幸的是，挣扎没有成功 这些技能可能会对学员及其导师产生多重负面影响。由于这些原因， 我们解决的关键差距是确定影响导师和受训者的因素 受训者科学沟通技能的发展，包括对存在的反应 确定进行培训，特别是如果这些因素导致历史上缺乏培训 科学和学术界的少数派代表性。参与者将从 德克萨斯大学 M.D. 安德森癌症中心和其他代表性不足的学员 从附近的机构招募。目的是 (1) 评估学员的实践、态度、 从 1300 项研究的横截面中得出科学传播的信心和需求 研究生和博士后研究员，使用在线调查并对受训者进行比较 类别（例如种族、性别、教育程度、语言状况）； (2) 评估导师的 培养学员科学沟通技能的实践、态度和信心 从 550 名现任和近期导师的样本中进行比较，这些导师在级别、性别、种族和 种族和其他人口特征，包括语言状况。结果将帮助我们 开发科学沟通技能发展的需求评估工具，并奠定 创建和调整教育活动的基础。未来我们将设计一个 科学传播的教育课程在文化和语言上适合 导师和学员融入现有活动。在创建这样的课程时。我们可以 检验导师可以更有效地以书面和口头形式指导学员的假设 当他们有详细的沟通技巧时。对学员的客观评价 沟通技巧。这种适合文化的指导工具和策略可以使 导师提供更个性化的指导，并在必要时转介专家教学。 我们希望这种创新方法能够帮助所有学员的导师，而且特别有效 由于沟通能力薄弱，调查员的职业生涯面临着很高的失败风险。

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.