Kickoff: In-person training event at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, November 17 – 18

Today marks the start of a two-day in-person training event at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus November 17 – 18, 2016.

Trainees who are aspiring scientists will work with NRMN professional development coaches and peers to develop competitive NIH grant funding proposals in an intensive grant writing coaching group, aspiring scientists.

Coaches will learn the art of training scientists to write grant proposals in rhetorical patterns and to multiple audiences.

In an intensive grant writing coaching group, aspiring scientists will work with NRMN professional development coaches and peers to develop competitive NIH grant funding proposals!

Mentor Training will be offered for those who are already mentoring postdocs and entry level faculty and would like to enhance those skills. The Mentor Training event is a one-day session hosted at The University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus on November 17.

It was developed by scientists affiliated with the Entering Mentoring series, which has been successfully tested via a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT), and is now being used as a framework for training across (NRMN). The session uses a case-based approach to explore an intellectual framework for research mentoring, providing opportunities for reflection on mentoring skills and a forum to solve mentoring dilemmas and share strategies for success.

Findings from the RCT include:

• Trained mentors reported significantly higher learning gains as compared to the control. They also reported they had implemented more changes in their mentoring practice.
• 88% of seminar participants reported that the 8-hour seminar was a valuable use of their time and 90% said they would recommend it to a colleague.
• Mentees of Trained Mentors noted a greater number of positive changes in their mentoring relationship over the study period.

Facilitator Training

The Facilitator Processing Training will be a half-day session hosted on November 18, 2016. It was specifically designed for those that have previously attended a train-the-trainer event (Facilitating Mentor or Mentee Training) led by members of the UW-Madison Entering Mentoring team.

In this Advancing Implementation session, we will discuss the progress that has been made to implement mentor training, the barriers faced, and how we can support institutional change that will help move your efforts forwards.

Find out more by emailing Dr. Adriana Baez, NRMN Associate Director at adriana.baez@upr.edu.