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Academic training schemes reviewed: implications for the future development of our researchers and educators
Author(s) -
Barton John Roger
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2007.02978.x
Subject(s) - training (meteorology) , psychosocial , medical education , quality (philosophy) , psychology , order (exchange) , medline , grey literature , medicine , political science , finance , business , philosophy , physics , epistemology , psychiatry , meteorology , law
Summary There are few papers of great quality in the literature on clearly defined research or academic training schemes. However, some important themes have emerged, which should be addressed in the design and implementation of academic training schemes. Key issues include time pressures and the provision of supervision, structured training and infrastructure. However, there is a real need for in‐depth, high‐quality data on current schemes, ideally combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. This would inform the construction and delivery of high‐quality academic training schemes that are vital to the future of academic medicine, not only in the UK but worldwide. Context There is an international crisis in academic medicine: numbers of academics are low; there is a split between teaching and research, and career progression is poorly defined. In the UK, academic career pathways have recently been reformed, but there is little readily accessible information on what a high‐quality academic training scheme might comprise. Methods I conducted a wide review of medical and bio‐psychosocial databases, coupled with a search of the grey literature. Results The review suggests both widespread support for training in research and dissatisfaction with training schemes. Insufficient training time is a major issue. High‐quality supervision is crucial, with clear goals and expectations for research fellows. Structured training seems to be helpful, as is financial, administrative and statistical support. However, the vast majority of studies give a broad overview or opinion, or report the superficial results of questionnaire surveys. The focus is on research training; teaching is ignored. Conclusions Although there appears to be broad agreement on a number of issues, the literature lacks sufficient depth, and little is known about factors that contribute to effective academic training schemes. Schemes must be studied in depth to determine what makes them successful, in order to ensure the future of teaching and research.