Professional Development Core

The Professional Development (ProfDev) Core provides clinical and translational research training opportunities to medical professional students, clinicians, and faculty members using a complementary platform of didactic courses, enrichment experiences, workshops, and faculty development. This comprehensive approach includes several established opportunities for Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) training within OSCTR institutions, as well as new programs currently under development:

During this grant period, the ProfDev Core continued building evidence-based mentoring functions, focusing on the combination of career development and psychosocial functions of mentoring. This approach has been compatible with the professional development and training needs for CTR. Using evidence-based mentor competencies, the Oklahoma Center for Mentoring Excellence (OCME) was created, conducting intramural research across the seven OUHSC colleges to identify faculty self-assessed competence and confidence regarding these competencies.

Core Leadership

Prof Dev Core Director – Valerie Williams, PhD

Senior Associate Core Director – Anne Pereira

Associate Core Director – Natasha Mickel, PhD

Associate Core Director – Sydney Martinez, PhD

Prof Dev Program Director (MS in CTS) – Sar Vesely, PhD

Prof Dev Program Director (TPIR) – Jennifer Peck, PhD

Prof Dev Program Director (OSCTR Scholars) – Carol Webb, PhD

Oklahoma Center for Mentoring Excellence Unit

What is the Oklahoma Center for Mentoring Excellence?

The Oklahoma Center for Mentoring Excellence (OCME) is an OUHSC workshop that provides comprehensive faculty mentor development information. OCME enhances mentoring opportunities for faculty focused on clinical and translational research, faculty from associated IDeA programs, as well as interested faculty members from any of the health sciences center colleges.

What is Covered in the Mentor Workshops?

OCME uses evidence-based, interactive mentor development curriculum from the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). The workshops provide an opportunity to understand and develop the six competency skills of effective mentors:

MENTOR

Maintaining Effective Communication (MEC)
Aligning Expectations (AE)
Assessing Understanding (AU)
Addressing Equity and Inclusion (AEI)
Fostering Independence (FI)
Promoting Professional Development (PPD)

MENTEE

Maintaining Effective Communication (MEC)
Aligning Expectations (AE)
Building Research Self-Efficacy (BRSE)
Addressing Diversity (AD)
Achieving Independence (AI)
Seeking Professional Development (SPD)

These competencies are covered in a series of three workshops. Participants who complete all three workshops will obtain a certificate of completion. Each workshop is presented twice a semester. This allows participants to make up any missed workshops when schedules don’t allow them to attend in sequential order.

Who Should Attend the Workshops?

Faculty members who mentor medical students, fellows, junior faculty, graduate students, or residents should attend these workshops.

Leadership

Funded By: The National Institutes of Health

Director: Natasha Mickel, Ph.D.

Assistant Director: Brandt Wiskur, Ph.D.

Contact Information: Natasha-Mickel@ouhsc.edu

Call to Actions

There is no cost to participants, but registration is required. Meals will be provided.

Click Here for a list of upcoming workshops and registration links.

Achievements and Innovations

Recent Developments

During this grant period, the Professional Development Core has expanded its reach and impact significantly:

Grew the pool of OCME NRMN-trained mentors from 4 to 120.
Developed formal training and academic pathways through year-long workshops, new certificate programs, and the continuing Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Science (MS in CTS) degree.

COVID-19 Impact and Response

The public health crisis created by COVID-19 prompted significant changes in our professional development efforts. The pandemic has impacted the formal and informal career and identity-formation resources, leading to significant turnover and disruptions in the usual work-life flow. These challenges have necessitated a reevaluation of onboarding and integration practices for new faculty and staff.

Goals and Objectives

Our goal for the professional development of CTR investigators in Oklahoma is to help early career and established investigators adopt and adapt effective use of the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that facilitate CTR success. We aim to provide flexible but clear pathways for CTR-naïve investigators to develop productive CTR research programs. Our objectives include:

Offering mentor and mentee training curricula that adopt/adapt effective practices from national reputable sources.
Providing advice and coaching to early career faculty investigators through senior investigator and peer mentoring.
Facilitating team science by connecting basic science investigators with established CTS investigators.
Evaluating the efficacy and efficiency of the ProfDev Core through its products, impact, and outcomes of mentoring relationships.

Innovation

The ProfDev Core is innovative due to several novel approaches:

Including URM Associate Core Directors for most OSCTR cores and providing specific outreach and development opportunities for URM investigators.
Centralizing and formalizing mentor development through OCME, expanding services to partner institutions and other IDeA states.
Creating a Clinical Scientist Development Award program to provide pre-K support to clinicians.
Developing a Certificate in CTS program focused on URM populations and allowing distance-based learning for tribal and rural partners.
Implementing an OSCTR Scholar Community of Practice to re-engage early-stage investigators.

Successes During Prior Funding

The OSCTR has integrated CTR education within existing training programs and developed new programs to broaden the participant spectrum:

Increased the number of K award recipients in the state from 3 to 18.
Expanded the Master in Science in Clinical and Translational Science (MS-CTS) program.
Developed and launched the Certificate in CTS program.
Implemented the Translating Practice into Research Program (TPIR), with 75 participants since inception.
Provided intensive mentoring through the OSCTR Scholars program.
Launched the Oklahoma Center of Mentoring Excellence (OCME), with 120 faculty completing the workshop series.
Supported the long-standing Faculty Leadership Program (FLP) at OUHSC.

These achievements and ongoing efforts highlight our commitment to advancing clinical and translational research through comprehensive professional development and mentoring.