The urgent need for more geriatric researchers and practitioners is well documented. Less well studied, however, is the question of how students become interested in geriatrics in the first place. Several reports have pointed to the importance of mentoring in this process. When asked to rate the most important factors in their decision to enter geriatric medicine, 48% of fellowship-trained geriatricians cited the influence of a mentor or role model (Medina-Walpole et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50:949-955). Similarly, Lieff et al found that the influence of teachers as mentors was among the most important factors in developing an interest in geriatric psychiatry (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2003;11:300-308). Mentoring is crucial not only for those at the fellowship or postdoctoral level, but also for students just beginning to explore their career possibilities.
Sincerely,
Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS; Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH; Maureen Halpain, MS; Barry D. Lebowitz, PhD;
Charles F. Reynolds III, MD; Gwenn Smith, PhD; Joel E. Streim, MD; Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA
Training future generations of mental health researchers: devising strategies for tough times.
Reynolds CF 3rd, Pilkonis PA, Kupfer DJ, Dunn L, Pincus HA.
Acad Psychiatry. 2007 Mar-Apr;31(2):152-9.
The authors describe a junior faculty scholars program in a large academic department of psychiatry, designed to reduce attrition during the high-risk period of transition from post-doctoral fellowship to receipt of the first extramural research award.
Educating, training, and mentoring minority faculty and other trainees in mental health services research.
Yager J, Waitzkin H, Parker T, Duran B.
Acad Psychiatry. 2007 Mar-Apr;31(2):146-51.
The authors describe the evolution of a novel national training program to develop minority faculty for mental health services research careers.
UCSD's Short-Term Research Training Programs for Trainees at Different Levels of Career Development.
Jeste DV, Halpain MC,Trinidad GI, Reichstadt JL,Lebowitz BD.
Acad Psychiatry. 2007 Mar-Apr;31(2):160-7.
There is a critical need for new researchers in psychiatry, including subspecialties such as geriatric psychiatry. In this article, the authors describe several successful short-term research training programs.
MostViewedPresentations 
General
Effective Mentoring
Charles F. Reynolds III, MD
Dr. Reynolds talks about the processes involved with effective mentoring, and how both mentors and students benefit from that process.
Geriatric
Excellence in Mentoring: Skills, Obstacles, and Facilitators
Yeates Conwell, MD
Dr. Conwell discusses the two types of mentorship seen in academic settings -- content and process -- and how excellence can be attained in each type on an individual, dyadic, and institutional level.
MostReadArticles 
General
Depression in late-life: shifting the paradigm from treatment to prevention.
Whyte EM, Rovner B.
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Aug;21(8):746-51
While the field of geriatric psychiatry is focused on depression treatment, prevention is an enticing option. This paper will review current thinking on prevention research with a particular focus on its application to late-life depression.
Geriatric
Developing Educational Leaders: The Teaching Scholars Program at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.
Muller JH, Irby DM.
Acad Med. 2006 Nov;81(11):959-964.
A Teaching Scholars Program (TSP) was established in 1998 in the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine with the mission of building knowledgeable and skilled educational leaders, teachers, and scholars.
InTheNews
Cashing in on ideas
TimesOnline.co.uk, March 29, 2007
Postgraduate or postdoctoral life is relatively straightforward: get funding, do research, publish findings, repeat until granted tenure or offered a job in industry. But clever concepts can also lead to a lucrative career.
The inside track from academia and industry: Staying power
NatureJobs.com, March 2007
The odds of progressing from being a PhD student to holding a faculty post are at least 100:1. For those who manage to make the move, their future success will hinge on them working on the right research question at the right time and in the right place.
Report: Stagnant NIH funding a setback
United Press International.com, March 20, 2007
The United States' position as a global leader in biomedical research may change if National Institutes of Health funding is not immediately increased, says a new report released by 9 of the nation's top medical and scientific universities.
CareerAutobiographyPatricia Aréan, PhD
Dr. Aréan, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco, discusses her career pathway. Other career autobiographies can be found in the Researcher Roadmaps section.
EventsCalendar
CV Preparation: What Works and What Doesn't
When: April 3
Where: Teleconference
When: April 8
Where: N/A
2nd International Congress of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry
When: April 17-21
Where: Santiago, Chile
MedEdResources
Journal of Applied Gerontology
The Journal of Applied Gerontology publishes articles in all subdisciplines of aging whose findings, conclusions, or suggestions have clear and sometimes immediate applicability to the problems encountered by older persons.
US Administration on Aging (AoA)
The AoA is a Federal agency dedicated to policy development, planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based services to older persons and their caregivers.
Smith, Robert V. Graduate Research: A Guide for Students in the Sciences.
University of Washington Press; 3rd rev edition, 1998.
Concise, encouraging, and filled with practical information about the business of being a research student, Graduate Research is a step-by-step guide for students in the life, natural, physical, and social-behavioral sciences.
ThisMonth'sPoll
To participate in this month's poll click HERE.
Click here to tell a colleague.