AEA Annual Meeting November 13, 2015 Evaluation of the National Cancer Institute’s Intramural Training Program: Experience, Satisfaction and Diversity AEA Annual Meeting November 13, 2015 Julie L. Mason, Ph.D. Center for Cancer Training

NCI Center for Cancer Research Training 1-5 year predoctoral, postdoctoral, clinical fellowships & student internships 2 campuses plus satellite locations >30 professional and scientific skills workshops >250 principal investigators 850 foreign and domestic trainees >50 laboratories and branches

NCI Trainee Survey Objectives To understand training experiences To assess trends in workforce To highlight opportunities for program enhancement

Survey Overview Survey re-design team 382 (45%) 329 (13% dropout)

Outline of Findings Demographics Satisfaction and training experience PI-trainee relationship Work/life balance Career planning

Demographics

Respondent Demographics Length of time as a trainee 54% Non-U.S. citizens 53% 33%

Race and Ethnicity Do you consider yourself Hispanic or Latino? Race

Satisfaction and Training Experience

Overall Satisfaction I would recommend the training in my lab to a colleague Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

Overall Satisfaction 80% I would recommend the training in my lab to a colleague Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree 31% 80% 49% 14% 6%

What Trainees Like About Their Fellowship

PI-Trainee Relationship

Agreement with the following statements PI as a Mentor Agreement with the following statements

Research Project Discussions Frequency of research project discussions with PI 78% Perception of research project discussion occurrence Too frequent Often enough Not frequent enough

Research Project Discussions Frequency of research project discussions with PI 78% Perception of research project discussion occurrence Too frequent Often enough Not frequent enough 12% 74% 14%

Work/Life Balance

“Just work till midnight, you need to relax too”

Satisfaction with Work/Life Balance To what extent are you satisfied with your work/life balance? Extremely satisfied Somewhat satisfied Dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied

Satisfaction with Work/Life Balance To what extent are you satisfied with your work/life balance? Extremely satisfied Somewhat satisfied Dissatisfied Extremely dissatisfied 23% 82% 59% 14% 4%

Hours Worked Per Week by Parental Status * *denotes significance at p < 0.05

Career Planning

Individual Development Plan (IDP) Opportunity for improvement Individual Development Plan (IDP) Did you complete an individual development plan (IDP) upon arrival at the NCI? Of those who completed it, >70% found the IDP helped them to: Think about next steps in research Develop scientific skills Prepare for future career

Career Planning Discussions Frequency of career development discussions with PI

Career Planning Discussions Frequency of career development discussions with PI 68% Perception of career development discussion occurrence Too frequent Often enough Not frequent enough

Career Planning Discussions Opportunity for improvement Career Planning Discussions Frequency of career development discussions with PI 68% Perception of career development discussion occurrence Too frequent Often enough Not frequent enough 0% 44% 56%

Preferred Areas of Future Employment

Future Position Trainees Want to Obtain What position type would you like to obtain? Tenure track faculty (PI) Scientific review officer or program manager Analyst, advisor, or consultant Patent examiner, lawyer, or technology transfer specialist Clinical staff/ private practice Writer, editor Entrepreneur Other Faculty (other) Research or staff scientist Instructor

Future Position Trainees Want to Obtain

Conclusions NCI trainees are largely satisfied with their training experience and work/life balance Majority consider their PI to be their primary mentor and regularly and productively discuss their research Opportunities exist to encourage greater communication between trainees and PIs (or others) about career planning Opportunities exist for additional implementation and usage of IDPs

Continuing Challenges How to encourage greater participation in scientific and career development training opportunities? How to stimulate greater survey participation from trainees? How to minimize survey exhaustion?

Acknowledgements Kristin Sachi Mendoza, AEA Graduate Education Diversity Intern, NIH Erica Blue Roberts, AEA Graduate Education Diversity Intern, NIH Larry Solomon, NIH James Corrigan, NIH Jonathan Wiest, NIH Additional NIH contributors: Yang Zhou Nadia Castro Rami Doueiri Barbara Rath Brid Ryan Kenneth Gibbs, Jr. Danielle Daee Elizabeth Hsu Vivian Horovitch-Kelly