Jeste Dilip V, Halpain Maureen C, Trinidad Geraldine I, Reichstadt Jennifer L, Lebowitz Barry D
University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Acad Psychiatry. 2007 Mar-Apr;31(2):160-7. doi: 10.1176/appi.ap.31.2.160.
There is a critical need for new researchers in psychiatry, including subspecialties such as geriatric psychiatry. Many existing research training programs focus on post-doctoral-level trainees and involve several years of hands-on research with experienced mentors at major universities. Although valuable, such programs have some limitations in expanding the pool of investigators in specific areas. In this article, the authors describe several successful short-term research training programs.
The authors, at the University of California, San Diego, coordinate three federally funded programs that take place during the summer and include trainees at different levels from across the United States. These programs are 1) Summer Training on Aging Research Topics-Mental Health (START-MH) for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students; 2) Stein Institute for Research on Aging (SIRA) Medical Student Training In Aging Research (MSTAR); and 3) Summer Research Institute (SRI) in Geriatric Psychiatry for postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. The authors compare salient characteristics of these programs, illustrating similarities as well as differences.
The authors' experience to date suggests that these initiatives have been highly successful in attracting talented trainees at various levels, and the participants have found these experiences useful. The available follow-up suggests positive effects on research career development of the trainees, at least in the shorter run.
There are several possible models that seem to have considerable promise for expanding the pool of scientists in a given field. Limitations of this approach as well as plans for the future are discussed.
精神病学领域，包括老年精神病学等亚专业，对新研究人员有着迫切需求。许多现有的研究培训项目聚焦于博士后水平的受训人员，且涉及在主要大学与经验丰富的导师进行数年的实际研究。尽管这些项目很有价值，但在扩大特定领域研究人员队伍方面存在一些局限性。在本文中，作者描述了几个成功的短期研究培训项目。
加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校的作者们协调了三个由联邦政府资助的项目，这些项目在夏季开展，受训人员来自美国各地，处于不同水平。这些项目分别是：1）针对本科生、研究生和医学生的衰老研究主题 - 心理健康暑期培训（START - MH）；2）斯坦衰老研究所（SIRA）的医学生衰老研究培训（MSTAR）；3）针对博士后研究员和初级教员的老年精神病学暑期研究所（SRI）。作者比较了这些项目的显著特征，展示了它们的异同。
作者目前的经验表明，这些举措在吸引各级有才华的受训人员方面非常成功，参与者也觉得这些经历很有用。现有的后续跟踪表明，至少在短期内，对受训人员的研究职业发展有积极影响。
有几种可能的模式似乎在扩大特定领域科学家队伍方面有很大前景。本文还讨论了这种方法的局限性以及未来计划。
