Improving Retention of Minority Trainees: Mentoring in Scientific Communications

掌握书面和口头交流技能对于教师的生存至关重要。 到处都是。对于任何背景的科学家来说，这都可能是一个挑战，但可能尤其是 对于那些教育准备不足或接触有限的人来说很困难 标准的学术英语。教授这样的技能通常落在导师的身上，他们经常发现 任务劳动强度大，令人沮丧，可用的工具很少。非英语母语人士 导师可能有特别的困难，但即使是拥有出色英语语言技能的导师 可能不知道如何有效地教授这些技能。不幸的是，与 这些技能可能会对受训者及其导师产生多重负面影响。出于这些原因， 我们解决的关键差距是确定影响导师和学员的因素 学员科学沟通技能的发展，包括对存在的反应 确定要进行培训，特别是如果这些因素导致历史上缺乏 少数群体在科学和学术界中的代表性。参赛者将从 德克萨斯大学安德森癌症中心和其他代表性不足的实习生 从附近的机构招募。其目的是(1)评估学员的实践、态度、 从1300项研究的横截面看对科学交流的信心和需求 研究生和博士后研究员，使用在线调查并对受训人员进行比较 类别(例如，种族-族裔、性别、教育、语言状况)；和(2)评估导师的 培养学员科学沟通技能的实践、态度和信心 根据550名现任和新任导师的样本，比较了不同级别、性别、种族和 种族和其他人口统计特征，包括语言状况。结果将帮助我们 开发科学沟通技能发展中的需求评估工具，并为 创建和调整教育活动的基金会。未来，我们将设计一种 科学交流的教育课程在文化和语言上适用于 导师和受训人员融入现有活动。创建这样一门课程。我们可以的 验证这样的假设，即导师可以更有效地在书面和口头上指导学员 当他们有细节的时候，有沟通能力。对学员的客观评价 沟通技巧。这种文化上合适的指导工具和战略可以使 如有必要，导师可提供更个性化的辅导和转介至专家教学。 我们希望这种创新的方法将帮助所有受训人员的导师，但尤其有效 在启动由于沟通能力薄弱而导致失败风险较高的调查人员的职业生涯中。

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.