X. Huang is University Distinguished Professor, Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pharmacology, Radiology, and Kinesiology; associate dean for physician-scientist development; and director, Translational Brain Research Center, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3583-5502 .
S. Dovat is professor of pediatric hematology and oncology and director, Physician Faculty Mentoring Program, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-6165 .
Acad Med. 2021 Apr 1;96(4):490-494. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003886.
There are increasing needs for physician-investigators to translate the rapid expansion of knowledge, technology/interventions, and big data into the clinical realm at a time of increasing age-related disabilities and communicable diseases. Yet, the number of physician-investigators has continued to decline, and only a small number of medical school graduates in the United States are actively engaged in research. This problem may be particularly pronounced in small- and medium-sized academic institutions due to more limited educational and mentoring infrastructure. Neither efforts by the federal government nor isolated institutional programs alone have been effective yet in solving this problem. This article describes an integrated institutional strategy undertaken at Penn State College of Medicine that is focused on developing and sustaining a physician-investigator workforce. Key elements of this strategy are new programs to close gaps in the professional life cycle of physician-investigators, dedicated senior leaders collaborating with an experienced and diverse advisory committee, and a data-driven approach to programmatic evaluation. In this article, the implementation of integrated institutional programs including Institutional Mock Review for evaluation of grant proposals before submission, physician-scientist faculty mentoring, and effort matching programs are described. Detailed tactics are offered for tailoring these programs to a particular institution's background to maximize both efficiency and sustainability. The overarching strategy includes engaging multidisciplinary faculty as mentors and mentees, partnering with both clinical and basic science departments, integrating new programs with established approaches, and cultivating an emerging generation of physician-investigators as near-peer mentors and future leaders. This approach may serve as a useful paradigm for building an environment to nurture junior physician-investigators at other mid-sized academic institutions and may also have value for larger institutions in which there is fragmentation of the efforts to sustain the research careers of physicians.
现在，越来越多的医师研究人员需要将知识、技术/干预措施和大数据的快速扩展转化为临床领域，而与此同时，与年龄相关的残疾和传染病也在不断增加。然而，医师研究人员的数量持续下降，而且只有少数美国医学院毕业生积极从事研究工作。由于教育和指导基础设施较为有限，这个问题在中小规模学术机构中可能更为突出。联邦政府的努力和孤立的机构计划都没有有效地解决这个问题。本文介绍了宾夕法尼亚州立大学医学院采取的综合机构策略，该策略专注于培养和维持医师研究人员队伍。该策略的关键要素包括新的计划，旨在弥补医师研究人员职业生涯中的空白；专门的高级领导与经验丰富且多样化的顾问委员会合作；以及采用数据驱动的方法进行计划评估。本文描述了包括机构模拟审查（在提交资助提案之前对其进行评估）、医师科学家教员指导以及努力匹配计划在内的综合机构计划的实施情况。本文详细介绍了为使这些计划适应特定机构的背景而采用的策略，以最大限度地提高效率和可持续性。总体策略包括让多学科教员担任导师和学员，与临床和基础科学部门合作，将新计划与既定方法相结合，并培养新一代医师研究人员作为近等导师和未来的领导者。这种方法可以作为为其他中型学术机构培养初级医师研究人员的环境提供有用的范例，对于那些在维持医生研究事业方面存在碎片化努力的大型机构也可能具有价值。
