Pathways and Mentorship
National Family Medicine Strategic Plan for Research- A1: Maintain, promote and contribute to a database of family medicine research programs to connect learners to research training opportunities
- A2: Enhance and grow pathways to participate in family medicine research
- A3: Create structured mentorship experiences inside and outside home institutions
- A4: Normalize a team science approach by developing cross-disciplinary partnerships with PhDs, interprofessional groups, and community-based organizations
- A5: Promote a “culture of curiosity” among medical students and family medicine residency programs to ensure the workforce is well-equipped to critically analyze and apply evidence
A1: Maintain, promote and contribute to a database of family medicine research programs to connect learners to research training opportunities
Responsible Committee: Research Coordinator
A2: Enhance and grow pathways to participate in family medicine research for:
- medical students (e.g. expanding MD/PhD programs)
- residents (e.g. creating additional degree programs and fellowships)
- and family physicians (e.g. offering training opportunities)
Responsible Committee: NAPCRG Trainee Committee
A3: Create structured mentorship experiences inside and outside home institutions
Responsible Committee: STFM Research Committee
Action Steps:
- Create a bidirectional, national family medicine research mentorship training academy to promote better mentorship practices
- Investigate mentorship models and develop curricula, training, and programming to ensure successful skill development
A4: Normalize a team science approach by developing cross-disciplinary partnerships with PhDs, interprofessional groups, and community-based organizations
Responsible Committee: NAPCRG Committee on Advancing the Science of Family Medicine
Action Steps:
- Create a NAPCRG-AFMRD portal for collaborative research opportunities
- Recommend that a qualified research director is embedded within family medicine departments and training programs
A5: Promote a “culture of curiosity” among medical students and family medicine residency programs to ensure the workforce is well-equipped to critically analyze and apply evidence
Responsible Committee: ADFM Research Development Committee
Action Steps:
- Develop a standardized longitudinal curriculum in scholarly inquiry that spans pre-medical, UME, and GME (residency and fellowship) education with emphasis on research that aligns with our disciplines research vision.
- Re-examine accreditation standards for medical schools and residency programs to assess the incorporation of research curricula and infrastructure needs (e.g. learning networks, research support, etc.)
Resources:
Resources for Pathways & Mentorship
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The purpose of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health services, and access to such services through the establishment of a broad base of scientific research and through the promotion of improvements in clinical and health system practice. AHRQ invests in research that generates evidence, tools and strategies for frontline clinicians to deliver high-quality, safe, high-value healthcare. AHRQ also uses data and analytics to help healthcare decision makers understand how the US healthcare system is working and where there are opportunities for improvement
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) - Fellowship Directory
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) maintains a database of fellowships in a variety of disciplines that are available for family medicine graduates. Fellowship programs are searchable by location, program type, community setting, and duration.
Area Health Education Centers (AHEC)
The Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program was developed to recruit, train, and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. The AHEC program helps bring the resources of academic medicine to address local community health needs. The purpose of the AHEC program is to meet the needs of the communities they serve through robust community-academic partnerships, with a focus on exposure, education, and training of the current and future health care workforce, such as the development of an AHEC Scholars program.
Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program
The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program supports a national network of medical institutions that speeds the translation of research discoveries into improved care. Currently, more than 60 leading medical institutions across the nation receive CTSA Program funding. The institutions offer expertise, resources and partnerships at the national and local levels to improve the health of individuals and communities. The CTSA Program also nurtures the field of translational science through education, training and career support at all levels. Learn more about the advantages of working with your local CTSA
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) supports translational research and fostering collaborations among academic institutions that will improve the efficiency, quality and impact of the process for improving human health. A key goal in translational science is to transform the way research is done, making it faster, more efficient and more impactful. NCATS has information and resources for researchers to connect with staff, view funding opportunities and learn more about research activities.
National Institute for Health (NIH) - Research and Training
The National Institute for Health’s (NIH) mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.NIH works to turn scientific discoveries into better health for all. As the largest public funder of biomedical and behavioral research in the world, NIH is the driving force behind decades of advances that improve health, revolutionize science, and serve society more broadly.
Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)
The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research’s (CIMER) aspiration is to improve mentoring relationships for trainees and mentors at all career stages and disciplines through the development, implementation and study of evidence-based and culturally-responsive interventions.
The Diversity Program Consortium (DPC) is a network of institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve training and mentoring and to enhance individuals' success in biomedical research careers. This initiative aims to transform institutional culture and biomedical training and mentoring nationwide.
National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN)
The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Provides researchers across all career stages in the biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences with the evidence-based mentorship and professional development programming that emphasizes the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusivity and culture.
this is not an exhaustive list of all opportunities available
BRC provides opportunities for all departments and residency programs (and the individuals within them) to engage family medicine leaders, researchers and each other. Mutually beneficial interactions under the BRC umbrella build research capacity along with the actual accomplishment of published and presented research and scholarship.
Find out more here!
The mission of CASFM is to promote and actively contribute scholarship that advances the science of family medicine for the betterment of patients and their communities. It assures that the development, translation, and implementation of new knowledge rapidly becomes part of the fabric of family medicine through internally led writing initiatives such as white papers and manuscripts. CASFM has six work groups:
- Complexity Science (CS)
- Health Information Technology (HIT)
- Medical Education (ME)
- Participatory Health Research (PHR)
- Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN)
- Research Methods (RM)
GGP seeks to equip family medicine and primary care researchers with the skills they need to successfully develop and submit grants for research funding. Once learned, these skills continue to help generate new funds for family medicine research and training, year after year.
Find out more here!
Webinars and more opportunities will be available soon.
The goal of the Survey School Fellowship is to build capacity in research that uses survey methodology. The Fellowship includes opportunities for:
- Learning about survey research methodology and best practices in questionnaire item design
- Deliberate practice in developing research questions and relevant survey items
- Mentorship to support Fellows in developing competence in survey methodology
By the end of the Fellowship, each Fellow will have created a research proposal that uses survey methodology, including a set of questionnaire items designed according to best practices.
The Fellowship takes place over one full year, with three in-person educational sessions. These sessions are held in conjunction with the NAPCRG and STFM annual meetings, as follows:
- Session 1 at NAPCRG (Fall)
- Session 2 at STFM (Spring)
- Session 3 at NAPCRG (Following Fall)
Find out more here!
For questions and updates on the strategic plan, please reach out to Shannon Robinson (srobinson@napcrg.org).