Establishing the SHort course In transFerable skills Training (SHIFT) Program

While Ph.D. programs prepare graduate students to perform biomedical research, a defined systematic training program for transferable skills is generally lacking. When provided, this training is often informal, unstructured, or inconsistent. Therefore, there is a need to provide critical skills in marketing, relationship building, project management, and budgeting to prepare trainees to navigate into a productive, engaging, and rewarding biomedical research career. To address this gap in training, the graduate school at Meharry Medical College has developed the SH ort Course I n trans F erable skills T raining (SHIFT) Program, a one-year professional development program accessible to graduate students in the Southeast United States. The SHIFT Program has been launched to equip trainees with skills essential for success in all biomedical science careers. PhD Students between years one and two in their graduate program will be taught the primary constituents of career management through the use of four training modules. In Module I, students will complete self-assessments and be assigned to a small peer-mentoring team of six students with two mentors. Module II will consist of a 5-day workshop that encompasses instruction on the transferable skills identified as essential for career success. Module III will entail monthly interactive discussions over a 6-month period involving case study review and mentor-guided discussions to further reinforce skills learned. In Module IV, students will compile the information learned from Modules I-III to develop an Individual Development Plan that incorporates 3-5 specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based (SMART) career goals. Collectively, the SHIFT Program will allow participants to train, practice, and refresh skills, empowering them to navigate career transitions and obtain success in the career of their choice. NIH GM151274 and VA I01BX000505. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.