RADIATION ONCOLOGY DIRECTORS OF TRAINING WORKSHOP 30 MAY 2014

RESEARCH MENTORSHIP & THE CLINICIAN- SCIENTIST PATHWAY YVONNE ZISSIADIS

OBJECTIVES Give an overview of the role of Research Mentor Present the clinician-scientist pathway initiative Collect feedback from DoTs and TNDs

TRAINING RESEARCH MENTOR(RM) PURPOSE: to promote independent research by trainees To enable and promote the acquisition of research skills To improve research supervision and mentorship amongst trainees To help trainees prepare projects, presentations and publications

TRAINING RESEARCH MENTOR(RM)  Initiative of the RORC and endorsed by the ROETC  Position is nominated by HOD with support of TND  Each TN to have at least 1 RM (NOT all sites with have a RM)  TN will have to agree which sites nominate a RM  The RM will not be the DoT in most cases  The RM does NOT have to be the supervisor for individual trainee research projects  No fixed term  RM can be a fellow of RANZCR or an Education Affiliate

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS Knowledge of basic &/or translational &/or clinical research Knowledge of research opportunities Knowledge of clinical trials Knowledge of funding mechanisms and grants Experience with grant applications, tutoring/mentoring and publications Skills in networking, being a PI, peer review and communication Active membership in TROG Does not have to be the most senior, well published person in the Network

RM RESPONSIBILITIES review trainee’s work and presentations Review the mentee’s plan for achieving their research goals Provide advice re next step To facilitate networking in mentee’s research field eg grant applications To advocate for the mentee within the department eg protected time for research, time to attend relevant research meetings Guidance for manuscript writing, selection of appropriate journals, etc Conveying information on research related events

CHALLENGES FOR RM Mentoring a trainee who’s not working at the same site Establishing the boundaries between the RM & the individual trainee’s project supervisor Mentoring for research in a busy clinical department Working with the supervisor to design and complete an appropriate research project

CLINICIAN-SCIENTIST PATHWAY Formalize what currently goes on now Designed to accommodate various degrees from different universities These degrees vary wrto topics and entry points during FRANZCR training A way of combining specialist training with a formal graduate research higher degree (RHD) Eligible applicants:post part 1 training completed at least 18mths of training in RO recognized RHD are MD, D Med Sc, M Phil, PhD MBA, Grad Cert of Biostats, MPH & other similar non-research higher degrees are NOT considered eligible

WHAT HAPPENS TO TRAINING TIME??? Up to 1 year of FULLTIME research can be counted towards training time During this period of fulltime RHD, no more than 20% of time may be spent on clinical research If trainee is working a 60% clinical load (deemed “full time”) then the remaining 0.4 of each full clinical year can to counted towards a part-time RHD Completion of 2 years FULLTIME(equivalent) of RHD (pre phase 2 exams) will fulfill the research component of SMART program If RHD is completed after phase 2 exams – no discount on research component Trainees must still have completed at least 36mths of accreditated training & all required assessments to sit phase 2 exams

APPLICATION PROCESS Apply to ROETC via the College Training Assessment and Accreditation team RORC will initially review the research component of the application and provide recommendation to the ROETC Documentation required:CV HoD, TND and DoT letter of approval letter of approval from RHD supervisor letter of approval from University research proposal including details of higher degree supervision

PROGRESS DETAILS 6 mthly progress report to be submitted to ROETC 6 mthly reviews by DoT and project supervisor to check that project on track according to milestones set (both research and clinical milestones) Assessment of clinical component recorded on DoT assessment form Assessments to be submitted to ROETC Any concerns need to be referred to the TND and the Chief Censor

Pre- session questionnaire 1.With regards to registrar research in your department: a.List three limitations to registrar research in your department. b.List two potential solutions to each limitation that you feel would improve the situation. LimitationPotential Solutions 1.________________ i. _______________________________ ii. _______________________________ 2.________________ i. _______________________________ ii. _______________________________ 3. _________________ i. _______________________________ ii. _______________________________ 2.Are you aware of the list of journals recommended by RANZCR for submission of trainee research projects for peer review? YesNo 3.Are you aware of who the research mentor is for your network? YesNo 4.Are you aware on how to utilise the research mentor to benefit your trainees? YesNo 5.Are you aware of the SMART points program? YesNo 6.Are you aware of the acceptable activities for accumulating SMART points? YesNo 7.Have you heard of the clinician-scientist pathway? YesNo 7.If yes, do you feel adequately informed to advice your trainee of the process? YesNo

SUMMARY RANZCR is calling for nominations for RMs from the networks Nominations to be put forward over the nexxt 3-4 mths so that they can be reviewed at RORC meeting at ASM in September RM not necessarily the most senior clinician with the most publications Each network can nominate 2-3 RMs depending on size of network After nominations & selection- next step will be orientation (RORC) Clinician-scientist pathway is active. Awaiting applications

FEEDBACK How many TNs have appointed a RM? How was your RM appointed? What are the limitations to research in your department? Will a RM help alleviate some of these limitations? Are there any networks which feel they do not have a person with the qualifications to be a RM? Anything else???????????????