AAMC Reporter, October 2000: Spotlight: Group on Graduate Research, Education, and Training

VOLUME 9, NUMBER 13

JORDAN J. COHEN, M.D., PRESIDENT

OCTOBER 2000

Group on Graduate Research, Education, and Training

by Meredith Moller

The AAMC's 12 professional development groups are the point of entry for many AAMC constituents. Each month this year, the AAMC Reporter will describe a group's activities.

More than ever, biomedical researchers are making groundbreaking advances and discoveries in science that are being translated into life-saving treatments and cures.

Helping Ph.D. and post-doctoral programs prepare researchers to thrive in the rapidly changing scientific world is the goal of the AAMC's Group on Graduate Research, Education, and Training (GREAT). Created in 1996 and composed of about 300 faculty members and administrators appointed by medical school deans, the GREAT Group provides a forum for educators to promote quality in graduate biomedical science education.

"At this time of unprecedented scientific breakthroughs, the GREAT Group is committed to ensuring that there be a high-quality work force available to take advantage of these opportunities," says Allan Shipp, assistant vice president of the AAMC's Division of Biomedical and Health Sciences Research and executive secretary of the GREAT Group. "With that objective in mind, the group's leadership is scrutinizing policy developments that could affect the recruitment and retention of new scientific talent, as well as developing tools to help graduate program directors fulfill their educational goals."

Tom Fox, Ph.D., associate dean for Graduate Education at Harvard Medical School and chair of the GREAT Group, adds, "Responding in a timely way to reports and policies that affect students and researchers, participating in a national forum to discuss such issues, and exchanging ideas with colleagues are all part of our mission."

Dr. Fox cites the GREAT Group's recent publication of the "Self-Assessment of Graduate Programs in the Biomedical Sciences" - a monograph that outlines a process by which graduate programs can determine whether they are meeting their educational and programmatic objectives - as one of the ways in which the group is helping member institutions improve themselves.

The GREAT Group also provides direction on a wide range of issues, including research work force analysis, evolving NIH training policies, and the recent release of the National Research Council's report titled "Addressing the Nation's Changing Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists."

According to Dr. Fox, the group is aiding members when it comes to recruiting qualified Ph.D. candidates. "Diversity is one challenge members face, both in programs offered to students and the type of students we would like to apply for those programs. There is a need to educate ourselves first on how best to reach these undergraduate students when they have so many other opportunities offered to them."

These topics, among others, will be addressed at the GREAT Group's annual conference, which will be held in Savannah, Ga., Oct. 15-17. The conference, Dr. Fox explains, gives members a chance to examine programs from other schools, view models that have worked, and discuss the logistics of programs they are implementing. This year's conference includes sessions on preparing minorities for research careers in biomedical science, encouraging undergraduates to embark on research careers, evaluating the role of faculty mentoring, and examining ethics and professionalism in research.

Information; Allan Shipp, (202) 828-0484