Last month, the Council of Graduate Schools released preliminary findings from the PhD Completion Project, a 7-year grant-funded collaboration aiming to collect the most comprehensive and useful data on attrition from doctoral study and completion of Ph.D. programs. Surveys of new PhDs from 29 universities participating in the project found that 63% listed mentoring/advising as the main factor in completing their doctoral degree, second only to financial support at 80%. When asked about valuable advice they received from mentors, research was the top topic listed across all fields of study.
Given the importance of mentoring, how do you find the best mentoring partnership for you? Take a look at our presentation on Mentor/Mentee Relationships, located in our Mentoring Q & A section. While you're there, check out other people's questions on working with mentors. You can even submit a question and have it answered by one of us. As always, whether you're a mentor or a mentee, we look forward to hearing from you.
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
Psychiatry residency training around the world.
Zisook S, Balon R, Björkstén KS, Everall I, Dunn L, Ganadjian K, Jin H, Parikh S, Sciolla A, Sidhartha T, Yoo T.
Acad Psychiatry. 2007 Jul-Aug;31(4):309-25.
The authors compare and contrast psychiatry residency training in the United States to that in Canada and selected countries in South America, Europe, and Asia.
Voltaire's Candide, medical students, and mentoring.
Papadimos TJ.
Philos Ethics Humanit Med. 2007 Jul 3;2(1):13 [Epub ahead of print].
Good mentors and role models are important to students in order to temper their optimism, control their skepticism, and to help them to be realistic, not only about their expectations of medical practice, but what society expects of them.
MostViewedPresentations 
General
Interpreting and Responding to Grant Reviews
Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS
This presentation describes a stepwise approach to interpreting and responding to grant reviews and offers strategies that will lead to the most successful response.
The Focus on Geriatric Mental Health
Statistical Support for Geriatric Mental Health Research
Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH
In this brief presentation, Dr. Bruce highlights the key question of why we need to focus on geriatric mental health.
MostReadArticles 
General
Writing-skills development in the health professions.
Rawson RE, Quinlan KM, Cooper BJ, Fewtrell C, Matlow JR.
Acad Psychiatry. 2007 Mar-Apr;31(2):152-9.
Teach Learn Med. 2005 Summer;17(3):233-8.
Studies have found that students in the medical professions often lack the writing skills required during their education and career. In the context of a basic science course, weekly exercises were found to improve writing skills.
Geriatric
Proposed geriatric psychiatry core competencies for subspecialty training.
Lieff SJ, Kirwin P, Colenda CC.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2005 Sep;13(9):815-21.
The authors present and discuss the theoretical and practical development of proposed core competencies for subspecialty training and certification in geriatric psychiatry as required by the ACGME and the ABPN.
InTheNews
Why and When Ph.D. Students Finish
InsideHigherEd.com, July 17, 2007
Preliminary data from the Council of Graduate Schools’ Ph.D. Completion Project show that financial support and mentoring/advising are the most important factors contributing to completion.
Request for Information (RFI): NIH System to Support Biomedical and Behavioral Research and Peer Review
NIH.gov, July 6, 2007
The NIH is seeking comments regarding NIH’s support of the biomedical and behavioral research, including peer review, with the goal of examining the current system to optimize its efficiency and effectiveness.
CareerAutobiographyDaniel Weintraub, MD
Dr. Weintraub gives his perspective as a junior faculty member in the early stages of a geriatric mental health research career. Other career autobiographies can be found in the Researcher Roadmaps section.
EventsCalendar
The Current Funding Climate: How Can Early-Career Geriatric Mental Health Researchers Survive and Thrive?
When: August 7, 2007; 10:30am EST
Where: First Tuesday Teleconference
When: August 17 - August 20
Where: San Francisco, CA
MedEdResources
Grant Writing Tips Sheets
Many NIH Institutes produce guides and tip sheets for writing grants. Links to some of the most helpful are collected on this site.
Medical Education
Medical Education is an international peer-reviewed journal of interest to learners, teachers and researchers in health care education.
National Postdoctoral Association
The NPA is a member-driven organization that provides a unique, national voice for postdoctoral scholars. The NPA is also a collaborative organization that seeks to work with all stakeholders to improve the postdoctoral experience in the United States.
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