HMS Strategic Planning |
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Comments and DiscussionPlease note that comments will be posted weekly.
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April 16, 2008
HMS student (name withheld by request) Scholarly project "requirement" As a current HMS student, I read the comments regarding the benefits of establishing a "scholarly project" requirement with trepidation. I hope my words are not miscontrued. I visited Stanford as one of my choices for medical school, and one of the deterrents was the so-called scholarly project. I believe medical schools work similarly to businesses everywhere, you get what you advertise for. The implication that HMS will not begin to see a progressively higher percentage of students engaged in research as components of their careers is erroneous. Research is not a bad thing! I should say that, but for some, it is not a part of why and what it means to be a clinician. Introducing students to the importance of critical thinking, evaluation of relevant medical data, and incorporation of these ideas into one's practice is a model that should be sought after. That is a different message than the one that would be sent by requiring a scholarly project. I believe firmly that the ripple effect of such a requirement will be seen not simply in the product of the HMS education, but more subtly and convincing in the admissions are of this institution. It is interesting to read the comments that students, without research background, would have an opportunity to engage in rigorous research that may stimulate their future career interest. I submit that for every student that fits that example, there is the student who knows that research is not what they are interested in, and for whom, this "requirement" will serve as a deterrent to their acceptance to HMS. I believe that in making a scholarly project a requirement, HMS will field a new and different type of applicant, not necessarily better or worse, just different. I would simply caution against striking out onto a path where the curriculum is condensed into a smaller time frame and now adding another rigorous mandatory component. I hope my argument has been clear; it is very late and my child won't go to sleep. Thank you.
April 15, 2008
HMS staff member (name withheld by request) Strategic Planning Site Please provide a link to any published reports within the page for the relevant advisory group. Thank you for your thoughtful and excellent suggestion. As they become available, we’re making committee reports available via links within the Advisory group pages.
April 15 , 2008
HMS staff member (name withheld by request) Communicating with PhDs and PostDocs Countway Librarians would strongly support SAGE recommendation 3.1. We currently have no way of communicating with the PhDs and PostDocs who are scattered throughout laboratories at affiliated institutions. Consequently they don't know about our many new biomedical informatics databases, our classes and workshops, as well as the reference support we have available. As a recent blog posting by an HMS student illustrated, they desperately need these services.
April 15, 2008
HMS postdoc office, formerly (name withheld by request) postdoc outcomes Tracking postdoc outcomes has been suggested but is not necessarily mandated by funding sources, which might account for the lack of data. There needs to be an institutional commitment to set up procedures and acquire funding to gather such data. Presently, it might not be as important to know actual numbers of fellows that pursue various careers other than faculty as to know the transitional paths taken. Positions in law, policy, education administration,and business (to give a few examples) are not attained in an immediate manner and may require some further training. Providing postdocs with access to career services will assist in gathering information on further training. A few postdocs willing to return and speak to others would be helpful also. Alternatively, one might consider setting up interdepartmental postdoctoral fellowships in the future. This might allow a science or engineering fellow to spent time in the business school, or the law school, or school of government. Retention of scientists is important. I see no mention of reentry programs per se. It is unclear as to whether courses might be open to those wishing to retrain. So many fellowships stipulate time from degree eligibility. This needs to be adressed at the funding level where retraining might restore eligibility.
April 13, 2008
HMS faculty member (name withheld by request) Obstacles to research I want to underscore my agreement with your attempts to overcome "The complex regulatory requirements for animal studies and clinical trials in our ultiinstitutional environment have led to a situation where innovative mouse models of disease cannot be easily transferred from one researcher to another, and clinical trials that wish to make use of technology centers at multiple institutions must go through an extended process of obtaining approvals from multiple IRBs with conflicting priorities." Please elaborate on each point and suggest concrete steps and a timetable.
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