Education Mission
Medical and Graduate Education
SUSTAINED QUALITY AND MEDICAL GRADUATE TEACHING
The Department has offered two main courses for medical students: Patients, Physicians, and Society I and II (MD810, MD820). These courses were designed during the period funded by the Robert Wood Johnson curriculum grant, and they focus on small-group learning in a problem-based learning (PBL) format. The strengths of the courses have been the opportunity for a small group of students to work with the same preceptor for a 2-year period, flexibility in the selection of cases that highlight current curricular concepts, and active learning opportunities for student projects.
GRADUATE STUDENT EDUCATION
The Department has maintained a substantial role in graduate education. Each faculty member has a joint appointment with one or more social science disciplines on the central campus. In 2007, for example, Departmental faculty members served as chair, co-chair or member of dissertation committees for 148 graduate students. Departmental faculty also continue to teach upper-level graduate courses. Departmental funds and faculty research grants supported 17 graduate students in Fall 2006 and 16 graduate students in Fall 2007. The Department, in effect, serves as a central focus for multidisciplinary research training for advanced graduate students from programs such as Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Health and Social Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Nursing, Social Work, Educational Psychology, Gerontology, Communication, and Public Health. The Department also maintains a strong relationship with the PhD-granting social science programs in Arts and Sciences, Communications and Information Studies, and Nursing, as well as the Gerontology program in the College of Public Health. In some institutions, formal and informal barriers limit the performance of scholarly work that crosses college and particularly medical center boundaries. Because of the Department’s structure and history, the Department has provided a common pathway and nexus for interdisciplinary work in medical behavioral science. For example, from 2000 to 2005, Departmental faculty members helped guide 68 students to their PhD degree and 16 to their MA degree; in addition, 14 postdoctoral students were supported by training programs, 10 of whom were women and two of whom were members of minority groups. &
CERTIFICATE IN MEDICAL BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
The Department’s Graduate Certificate in Medical Behavioral Science was designed for students who are enrolled in a doctoral program in a basic academic field. This program has typically admitted doctoral students from Anthropology, Communication, Educational and Counseling Psychology, Geography, Gerontology, Health and Physical Education, Nursing, Nutritional Science, Psychology, and Sociology. The Certificate is designed to provide students with (1) an orientation to a multidisciplinary approach incorporating the basic theories and methods of their disciplines with those of other social and behavioral sciences, with identification of areas of convergence and interrelation in content, theories, and methods; (2) an orientation to health and medical settings, including an enculturation to the attitudes, values, professional interrelationships, and educational objectives of health personnel and organizations, and the nature of behavioral science research in these areas; and (3) research training designed to equip each student with basic skills and approaches to research design, data acquisition, data analysis, and manuscript and research grant preparation in medical behavioral science through collaboration with ongoing research projects.
CERTIFICATE IN CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE
The Graduate Certificate in Clinical and Translational Science is the entry point for graduate-level training in clinical and translational science (CTS). The curriculum is designed to establish knowledge-based and skill-based competencies in communication, professionalism, critical thinking, and synthesis of knowledge, planning, management and assessment, and leadership in the following five areas: CTS methods and technologies, scientific knowledge, measurement and statistics, research integrity (research ethics and responsible conduct of research), and collaboration and team building. These competencies are required of all CTS scholars, regardless of level of training or academic concentration. The Certificate curriculum integrates scholars with diverse backgrounds and training into a common training environment with group assignments and shared professional socialization experiences. The Department of Behavioral Science is responsible for the Certificate. The hours earned toward the Certificate may be used by students who wish to continue their study and earn an additional degree, such as the Master’s degree in Medical Sciences.
Since its inception in 1960, the Department of Behavioral Science has provided basic, clinical, and behavioral science instruction for students in the College of Medicine, as well as interdisciplinary health-related clinical research training to students enrolled in many graduate programs on campus (eg, Anthropology, Communication, Education, Psychology, Martin School, Nursing, Nutritional Sciences, Rehabilitation Science, Sociology, and Social Work).
In the Spring of 2006, the University of Kentucky established a Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CTS). The Department recognized that the research, educational, and training missions of the Department could serve the training mission of the University of Kentucky. After discussions, Departmental faculty decided to establish an academic home for the graduate educational programs in CTS and to develop an integrated clinical and translational research training program providing tiered levels of education and training (ie, Certificate in CTS, MS in CTS, PhD in CTS) with a flexible curriculum that could be tailored to individual career trajectories of professionals who have already completed or are currently completing professional training in the health sciences. An entry-level platform, a Certificate in CTS, was established to provide a common background and knowledge base to those interested in CTS, regardless of academic background or interest. Those who were committed to a career in CTS could build on this foundation and obtain advanced research training at the MS or PhD level. This educational platform was integrated with existing health-related graduate programs: students in graduate training programs were encouraged to complete entry-level competency CTS training in the Certificate program courses, whereas scholars in the CTS MS and PhD programs were encouraged to pursue courses and training opportunities offered by the integrated health-related graduate degree programs.
In the spring and summer of 2006, a working committee consisting of the Associate Deans for Research and Education (or their designated representatives) of all UK colleges that were engaged in health-related education and research identified a core of set of competencies for clinical and translational researchers. The competencies were grouped in four key areas: (1) communication skills, (2) professionalism, (3) critical thinking and synthesis of knowledge, and (4) leadership. Each area was applied to five broad content areas: CTS methods and technologies, scientific knowledge, measurement and statistics, research integrity, and collaboration and team building. Acquisition of these competencies served as the foundation for the curriculum for a Graduate Certificate in CTS.
The Graduate Certificate in CTS is the entry point for competency-based training in CTS, regardless of academic specialty. The key elements of this certificate are (1) a curriculum focused on core CTS research competencies, (2) mentored research training, and (3) scheduling and programmatic flexibility to support diverse constituencies. A 13-credit curriculum was developed by the Departmental faculty. Hannah Knudsen and Jamie Studts worked together to develop core courses in the Methods and Technologies of CTS (BSC 731) and Interdisciplinary Protocol Development (BSC 732); Jennifer Havens developed an introductory course in Biostatistics; and William Stoops developed a course in the Ethics of Clinical Research. Thomas Kelly hosted a Seminar in CTS, and all Certificate scholars were required to engage in a minimum of one semester of mentored research leading to a peer-reviewed publication. Scholars are eligible to submit an application for a $5000 seed grant modeled after an NIH predoctoral training grant application, and talented scholars were encouraged to extend research initiated during the Certificate program and to pursue advanced graduate training toward an MS or PhD degree in CTS. Multiple course offerings permit scholars to complete the Certificate in 12 to 18 months. Scholars receive credit for previous training and coursework, and, importantly, all graduate course credits obtained during Certificate training are transferrable to advanced MS or PhD programs in CTS.
The Master of Science in CTS is an interdisciplinary program providing rigorous mentored research training with a flexible curriculum tailored to the research interests and career goals of professional CTS scholars. The MS degree in CTS program was designed for the professional scholar interested in becoming an independent CTS investigator, as well as for those interested in providing creative contributions to CTS research. For scholars currently enrolled in professional programs, the MS in CTS serves as a dual-degree program (MD/MS, DMD/MS, PharmD/MS). The MS in CTS has been integrated into the MS in Medical Sciences program, which is jointly sponsored by all of the basic science departments of the College of Medicine. The MS in CTS includes a 24-credit curriculum consisting of 12 credit hours of competency-based CTS training in the Certificate curriculum and 12 hours of tailored coursework from the integrated CTS graduate programs; a program of mentored research training; and a thesis defense of the scholar’s independent clinical and translational research. The principal emphasis of the MS in CTS is on mentored research training provided by a primary mentor charged with supporting the scholar’s overall career development. Two co-mentors assist the primary mentor as members of an MS Advisory Committee that is charged with overseeing the scholar’s research training and crafting the tailored portion of the curriculum. Importantly, all of the credits of the MS program can be transferred to the PhD program, thereby allowing for vertical integration of the CTS education programs (CTS Graduate Certificate à MS degree à PhD degree).
The PhD in CTS has been proposed as an interdisciplinary program designed for professional scholars committed to leading interdisciplinary CTS research teams, sustaining independent research programs that promote innovation and new discovery, or both. The program is undergoing academic review at the time of this report. In addition to extensive research training, PhD candidates will be able to receive expanded training in the skills required for meeting career objectives: grant writing, grant management, team leadership, and personnel and laboratory management. Admission is limited to applicants with terminal professional degrees (ie, MD, DMD, DDS, PharmD, DVM, DO, DNP, DSc, or PhD) with appropriate domestic licensure for professional practice and to professional students enrolled in dual-degree programs. Like the MS program, the PhD program is CTS has as it principal emphasis mentored research training with a primary mentor and a PhD advisory committee. The mentor and the advisory committee are charged with supporting the scholar’s overall career development; they play a prominent role in coordinating the scholar’s curriculum, research training, and career development. The primary mentor or a co-mentor on each advisory committee must be a Departmental faculty member who is a full member of the graduate faculty. Other members of the PhD advisory committee are selected on the basis of their ability to support elements of scholar’s interdisciplinary research interests and career trajectory. The advisory committee conducts the qualifying and final examinations. Successful completion of the degree is contingent upon the scholar’s completion and presentation (written and oral) of well-reasoned research that yields clinically significant, publishable CTS knowledge.
In summary, Departmental faculty have established a vertically integrated program of interdisciplinary CTS research education and training that offers a tailored curriculum and mentored research training for the Certificate, the MS degree, and the PhD degree. This program is effectively integrated with the well-established and effective health-related graduate training programs at the University of Kentucky.
|
