Building a comprehensive mentoring academy for schools of health.

Formal mentoring programs are increasingly recognized as critical for faculty career development. We describe a mentoring academy (MA) developed for faculty across tracks (i.e., researchers, clinicians, educators) within a "school of health" encompassing schools of medicine and nursing. The program is anchored dually in a clinical and translational science center and a school of health. The structure includes the involvement of departmental and center mentoring directors to achieve widespread uptake and oversight. A fundamental resource provided by the MA includes providing workshops to enhance mentoring skills. Initiatives for junior faculty emphasize establishing and maintaining strong mentoring relationships and implementing individual development plans (IDPs) for career planning. We present self-report data on competency improvement from mentor workshops and data on resources and barriers identified by junior faculty (n = 222) in their IDPs. Mentors reported statistically significantly improved mentoring competency after workshop participation. Junior faculty most frequently identified mentors (61%) and collaborators (23%) as resources for goal attainment. Top barriers included insufficient time and time-management issues (57%), funding limitations (18%), work-life balance issues (18%), including inadequate time for self-care and career development activities. Our MA can serve as a model and roadmap for providing resources to faculty across traditional tracks within medical schools

Discussing Depression with Vietnamese American Patients

Background Asian patients preferentially seek mental health care from their primary care providers but are unlikely to receive it. Primary care providers need culturally-informed strategies for addressing stigmatizing illnesses. Methods 11 Vietnamese American community members participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. The grounded theory approach was used for qualitative coding and thematic analysis. Results Vietnamese community members describe experiences with depression under four themes: (1) Stigma and face; (2) Social functioning and the role of the family; (3) Traditional healing and beliefs about medications; and (4) Language and culture. Based on this data, we offer suggestions for improving culturally-informed care for Vietnamese Americans. Disucssion Our study adds to the research aimed at improving communication and health care relationships between physicians and Vietnamese American patients. Physicians should learn to tailor their interviewing style to the increasingly diverse patient population

Regulation of cerebral cortical neurogenesis by the Pax6 transcription factor

Understanding brain development remains a major challenge at the heart of understanding what makes us human. The neocortex, in evolutionary terms the newest part of the cerebral cortex, is the seat of higher cognitive functions. Its normal development requires the production, positioning and appropriate interconnection of very large numbers of both excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Pax6 is one of a relatively small group of transcription factors that exert high-level control of cortical development, and whose mutation or deletion from developing embryos causes major brain defects and a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders. Pax6 is very highly conserved between primate and non-primate species, is expressed in a gradient throughout the developing cortex and is essential for normal corticogenesis. Our understanding of Pax6’s functions and the cellular processes that it regulates during mammalian cortical development has significantly advanced in the last decade, owing to the combined application of genetic and biochemical analyses. Here we review the functional importance of Pax6 in regulating cortical progenitor proliferation, neurogenesis, and formation of cortical layers and highlight important differences between rodents and primates. We also review the pathological effects of PAX6 mutations in human neurodevelopmental disorders. Finally, we discuss some aspects of Pax6’s molecular actions including its own complex transcriptional regulation, the distinct molecular functions of its splice variants and some of Pax6’s known direct targets which mediate its actions during cortical development

Faculty Development and Diversity Program: UIH Faculty Interviews

As part of the UC Davis Health Faculty Development and Diversity (UCDH FDD) program, interviews were conducted with faculty from the Schools of Health who self-identify as being from racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in academic health. Twenty-eight individuals (24% of eligible UIH faculty) participated in an interview to share their stories of their pathway into academic health and their experiences as a UIH faculty member at UCDH. Participants also provided insights and suggestions on best methods to recruit, retain and support UIH faculty at UCDH. Qualitative analyses of de-identified interview transcripts were conducted to ascertain common experiences and themes. Findings describing UIH faculty pathways to a career in academic health and their challenges to achieving leadership and career goals are summarized

Building a comprehensive mentoring academy for schools of health.

Formal mentoring programs are increasingly recognized as critical for faculty career development. We describe a mentoring academy (MA) developed for faculty across tracks (i.e., researchers, clinicians, educators) within a "school of health" encompassing schools of medicine and nursing. The program is anchored dually in a clinical and translational science center and a school of health. The structure includes the involvement of departmental and center mentoring directors to achieve widespread uptake and oversight. A fundamental resource provided by the MA includes providing workshops to enhance mentoring skills. Initiatives for junior faculty emphasize establishing and maintaining strong mentoring relationships and implementing individual development plans (IDPs) for career planning. We present self-report data on competency improvement from mentor workshops and data on resources and barriers identified by junior faculty (n = 222) in their IDPs. Mentors reported statistically significantly improved mentoring competency after workshop participation. Junior faculty most frequently identified mentors (61%) and collaborators (23%) as resources for goal attainment. Top barriers included insufficient time and time-management issues (57%), funding limitations (18%), work-life balance issues (18%), including inadequate time for self-care and career development activities. Our MA can serve as a model and roadmap for providing resources to faculty across traditional tracks within medical schools

Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity (I-DARE) Taskforce Initiative - UC Davis Health Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing Edition

The Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (HEDI) created this toolkit to support your efforts to launch the Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity, aka the “I-DARE” Taskforce Initiative in Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing (BIMSON). This one-year initiative will support a taskforce to address immediate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) needs, train future leaders on DEI, and most importantly utilize a standardized needs assessment to develop sustainable school and institutional action plans to advance the UC Davis Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Vision goals. These goals are summarized below. You can access the full document at https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/about/strategic-plan. Furthermore, we will elaborate each goal and best practices to advance these goals in a later section of the toolkit

Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity (I-DARE) Taskforce Initiative - UC Davis Health School of Medicine Edition

The Office for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OHEDI) created this toolkit to support your efforts to launch the Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity, aka the “I-DARE” Taskforce Initiative in your department. This one year initiative is designed to catalyze the formation of departmental DEI taskforces to address immediate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) needs, train future leaders, and most importantly utilize a standardized departmental needs assessment to develop sustainable departmental and institutional action plans to advance the UC Davis Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Vision. The Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Vision developed five goals and objectives from nearly thirty campus community “engagement forums” and individual and group meetings with faculty, staff, and students. These goals are summarized below. You can access the full document at https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/about/strategic-plan. Furthermore, we will elaborate each goal and best practices to advance these goals in a later section of the toolkit