Male Spouses of Women Physicians: Communication, Compromise, and Carving Out Time

As the numbers of female physicians continue to grow, fewer medical marriages are comprised of the traditional dyad of male physician and stay - at - home wife. The “two - career family” is an increasingly frequent state for both male and female physicians’ families, and dual - doctor marriages are on the rise. This qualitative study explored the contemporary medical marriage from the perspective of male spouses of female physicians. In 2010, we conducted semi - structured, in - depth interviews with nine spouses of internal medicine resident and faculty physicians. Interviewers queried work - home balance, career choices, and support networks. We used an interpretive, inductive, iterative approach to thematically analyze interview transcripts and develop broad, consensus - derived themes. A conceptual framework based on three major themes emerged: “A time for us? Really?”, “Supporting and protecting her, sometimes at my expense,’” and “Hers is a career, mine is a job.” This framework described the inflexibility of physicians’ time and its impact on spousal time, career development, and choices. Having a set time for synchronizing schedules, frequent verbal support, and shared decision - making were seen a s important by the husbands of female, full - time physicians. This exploratory study examined the contemporary medical marriage from the male spouse’s perspective and highlights specific strategies for success. Keywords: Academic Medicine, Gender, Career, Qualitative Research, Work - Life Balance, Medical Marriag

Investigating Graduate Education and Undergraduate Research Intentions of College Science Students

The current study examined predictors of undergraduate science students’ intentions to attend graduate school and participate in undergraduate research. We used social cognitive career theory to test our hypothesized model using a sample (N ¼ 411) of life science and physical science majors and examined basic interests in these disciplines as mediating variables. Among life science majors, results of structural equation modeling indicated that microbiology interest mediated the relationship between scientific self-efficacy (SSE) and graduate education intentions (GEIs) and the latter variable also mediated the relationship between microbiology interest and undergraduate research intentions (URIs). The model for physical science majors did not provide a good fit to the data, therefore path coefficients associated with this model were not interpreted. Implications for counseling interventions based on patterns of career intention formation in the life and physical sciences are discussed

Comparing the Outcomes of Face-to-Face and Synchronous Online Research Mentor Training Using Propensity Score Matching

In this study, propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted to examine differences in the effectiveness of research mentor training (RMT) implemented using two modes-face-to-face or synchronous online training. This study investigated each training mode and assessed participants\u27 perceived gains in mentoring skills, ability to meet mentees\u27 expectations, and overall quality of mentoring, as well as intention to make changes to their mentoring practices. Additional factors that may contribute to participant outcomes were also examined. In total, 152 mentors trained using a synchronous online platform and 655 mentors trained in in-person workshops were analyzed using the PSM method. Mentors were matched based on similar characteristics, including mentee\u27s career stage, mentor\u27s title, mentor\u27s prior mentoring experience, mentor\u27s race/ethnicity and sex, and mentor\u27s years of experience; results show that both face-to-face and synchronous online modes of RMT are effective. Findings indicated that the training mode did not significantly impact the mentors\u27 perceived training outcomes. Factors associated with the reported training outcomes included dosage (hours of training), facilitator effectiveness, race/ethnicity, and previous mentoring experience. The results of this study demonstrate that mentors\u27 perceived training outcomes are comparable regardless of the training modality used-online versus face-to-face

Reflections Viewing Clinical Research Career Development Through the Lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory

Abstract. Issues such as, over commitment, insufficient time, and lack of funding, threaten physicians ’ entry and sustainability in a research career pathway. Social cognitive career theory is presented as a conceptual framework to critically examine the limitations of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) efforts to promote the career development of physician–scientists. Special attention is given to the unique challenges of promoting this career pathway for women and underrepresented minorities. The authors propose enhanced recommendations for the career development of physician–scientists and research questions for future studies and program development aimed at advancing the nation’s efforts to promote clinical research

Defining Attributes and Metrics of Effective Research Mentoring Relationships

Despite evidence of mentoring's importance in training researchers, studies to date have not yet determined which mentoring relationships have the most impact and what specific factors in those mentoring relationships contribute to key outcomes, such as the commitment to and persistence in research career paths for emerging researchers from diverse populations. Efforts to broaden participation and persistence in biomedical research careers require an understanding of why and how mentoring relationships work and their impact, not only to research training but also to promoting career advancement. This paper proposes core attributes of effective mentoring relationships, as supported by the literature and suggested by theoretical models of academic persistence. In addition, both existing and developing metrics for measuring the effectiveness of these attributes within mentoring relationships across diverse groups are presented, as well as preliminary data on these metrics from the authors' work

A system-wide health sciences faculty mentor training program is associated with improved effective mentoring and institutional climate.

Introduction: Mentorship is critical for faculty success, satisfaction, and engagement. However, many faculty, particularly underrepresented racial/ethnic (UR) faculty, lack access to high-quality mentoring. In an effort to improve mentoring for all faculty, we developed and implemented a formally structured faculty mentor training program (FMTP) across UC San Diego Health Sciences, which included institutional support, mentorship training, and department/division mentorship programs. Methods: FMTP impact was evaluated using three primary outcome variables: mentoring quality, mentoring behaviors, and institutional climate. Participants self-assessed mentoring competencies were measured using validated instruments. Results: A total of 391 (23%) of Health Sciences faculty participated in FMTP. Participation rate was higher for women than men (30% versus 17%) and highest for UR faculty (39%). FMTP was implemented in 16 of 19 departments. Self-reported mentoring improved for FMTP participants with mentoring quality (p = 0.009) and meeting mentees expectations (p = 0.01) continuing to improve for up to 2 years after training. However, participants were unsure if they were meeting UR mentees expectations. FMTP participants were significantly more satisfied with mentoring quality (p < 0.001) compared to non-participants, with the greatest increase in satisfaction reported by UR faculty (38-61%). UR faculty reported improved overall morale (51-61%) and a perception that the environment was supportive for UR faculty (48-70%). Conclusion: The implementation of a system-wide formal structured FMTP was associated with improved faculty satisfaction, quality of mentoring, and institutional climate, especially for UR faculty

Culturally aware mentorship: Lasting impacts of a novel intervention on academic administrators and faculty.

National efforts to address the diversity dilemma in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) often emphasize increasing numbers of historically underrepresented (HU) students and faculty, but fall short in instituting concrete changes for inclusion and belonging. Therefore, increasing the pool of senior faculty who wish to become guides and advocates for emerging scientists from HU populations is an essential step toward creating new pathways for their career advancement. As a step toward achieving this goal, we created a novel eight-hour intervention on Culturally Aware Mentoring (CAM), a program of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) targeted to faculty and administrators. A previous report of surveys at the end of the CAM sessions revealed substantial awareness and knowledge gains, with participants expressing intentions to use and implement new skills they had learned. In this paper, we provide the results of our thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with academic administrators and faculty, 18-24 months after participation in CAM. Interviews were designed to determine: 1) What changes in self-perceptions and interactions occurred as a result of participation in CAM? 2) What specific components of CAM are associated with changes in individual beliefs and practices? 3) How did participants actively make changes after the CAM workshop? 4) What barriers or challenges do participants encounter after the CAM intervention? The results demonstrate the lasting influences of CAM on participants' awareness of cultural differences, their assumptions about and approaches toward interactions with colleagues and students, and their efforts to change their behaviors to promote inclusive practices in their mentoring and teaching of HU students in STEM. Our findings provide evidence that CAM can be incorporated into existing mentor training programs designed to improve the confidence and capacity of senior research faculty mentors to make culturally-informed, scholar-centered decisions to more deliberately recognize and respond to cultural differences within their mentoring and collegial relationships