Personalized Pediatrician-Scientist Training Program Optimizes Institutional Research Investment

Physician-scientists are a diminishing subset of the pediatrician work force, uniquely trained to advance child health through scientific discovery. The current financial landscape of academic medical centers makes traditional resource-intensive training programs untenable.Continued renewal of this critical pediatric workforce requires new resource-efficient methodologies. Thus, we evaluated the impact of the NICHD supported Vanderbilt K12 program, a personalized, intensive training program.

We tracked academic outcomes for scholars with K12 appointments between January 2015 and December 2022. Our primary outcome was receipt of a mentored career development award (K08 or K23). Successful transition from mentored to independent NIH funding (K to R transition) was used as a secondary outcome. Academic outcomes for faculty participating in a large, institutional training program, the Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholars program (VFRS), served as a comparison cohort. A complementary qualitative evaluation of the K12 program was performed.

K12 scholars earned career development awards (73%) at an equivalent rate to VFRS faculty (71%) and transitioned K to R funding at equivalent rates, 45% of K12 scholars compared to 50% for VFRS. Qualitative analysis demonstrated K12 scholars valued a personalized training program that incorporated self-efficacy and adaptability, key tenets of Social Cognitive Career Theory.

Personalized physician-scientist training programs may enhance efficient utilization of research resources in Pediatric academic departments and serve as a viable alternative to traditional programs. Our qualitative evaluation suggests scholar self-efficacy and adaptability can be achieved through a personalized training program.