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Current mentorship practices in the training of the next generation of clinical microbiology and infectious disease specialists: an international cross-sectional survey.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to describe the current practice of mentorship in clinical microbiology (CM) and infectious diseases (ID) training, to identify possible areas for improvement and to assess the factors that are associated with satisfactory mentorship. An international cross-sectional survey containing 35 questions was answered by 317 trainees or specialists who recently completed clinical training. Overall, 179/317 (56%) trainees were satisfied with their mentors, ranging from 7/9 (78%) in non-European countries, 39/53 (74%) in Northern Europe, 13/22 (59%) in Eastern Europe, 61/110 (56%) in Western Europe, 37/76 (49%) in South-Western Europe to 22/47 (47%) in South-Eastern Europe. However, only 115/317 (36%) respondents stated that they were assigned an official mentor during their training. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the satisfaction of trainees was significantly associated with having a mentor who was a career model (OR 6.4, 95%CI 3.5-11.7), gave constructive feedback on work performance (OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.8-6.2), and knew the family structure of the mentee (OR 5.5, 95%CI 3.0-10.1). If trainees felt overburdened, 70/317 (22%) felt that they could not talk to their mentors. Moreover, 67/317 (21%) stated that they could not talk to their mentor when unfairly treated and 59/317 (19%) felt uncertain. Training boards and authorities responsible for developing and monitoring CM&ID training programmes should invest in the development of high-quality mentorship programmes for trainees in order to contribute to the careers of the next generation of professionals.

SUBMITTER: Ong DSY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6424943 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectiveIn 2009, in a European survey, around a quarter of Europeans reported witnessing discrimination or harassment at their workplace. The parity committee from the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) designed a questionnaire survey to investigate forms of discrimination with respect to country, gender and ethnicity among medical professionals in hospitals and universities carrying out activities in the clinical microbiology (CM) and infectious diseases (ID) fields.DesignThe survey consisted of 61 questions divided into five areas (sociodemographic, professional census and environment, leadership and generic) and ran anonymously for nearly 3 months on the ESCMID website.SubjectsEuropean specialists in CM/ID.ResultsOverall, we included 1274 professionals. The majority of respondents (68%) stated that discrimination is present in medical science. A quarter of them reported personal experience with discrimination, mainly associated with gender and geographic region. Specialists from South-Western Europe experienced events at a much higher rate (37%) than other European regions. The proportion of women among full professor was on average 46% in CM and 26% in ID. Participation in high-level decision-making committees was significantly (>10 percentage points) different by gender and geographic origin. Yearly gross salary among CM/ID professionals was significantly different among European countries and by gender, within the same country. More than one-third of respondents (38%) stated that international societies in CM/ID have an imbalance as for committee member distribution and speakers at international conferences.ConclusionsA quarter of CM/ID specialists experienced career and research discrimination in European hospitals and universities, mainly related to gender and geographic origin. Implementing proactive policies to tackle discrimination and improve representativeness and balance in career among CM/ID professionals in Europe is urgently needed.

Project description:The purpose of this investigation was to assess the balance between the personal and professional lives of trainees and young European specialists in clinical microbiology (CM) and infectious diseases (ID), and determine differences according to gender, country of training, workplace and specialty. The Steering Committee of the Trainee Association of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) devised a questionnaire survey consisting, beyond the demographic questions, of nine yes/no questions, 11 Likert scale self-evaluations and one open-response item on parenthood, working conditions, quality of life, alcohol consumption and burnout. This anonymous survey in English was held between April and July 2015 among European CM/ID trainees and young specialists (<3 years after training completion). Responses from 416 participants with a mean age of 32 years [standard deviation (SD) 5 years] were analysed. Females and physicians from Northern/Western Europe (NWE) benefit more from paternity/maternity leaves even during training than their counterparts. Among all respondents, only half of breastfeeding mothers enjoyed the benefit of working hours flexibility. Only two-thirds of respondents found their working environment stimulating. In comparison to colleagues from other parts of Europe, trainees and young specialists from Southern/Eastern Europe (SEE) had less frequent regular meetings with mentors/supervisors and head of departments where trainees' issues are discussed. Also, physicians from SEE were more frequently victims of workplace mobbing/bullying in comparison to those from other regions. Finally, multivariate analysis showed that female gender, SEE region and ID specialty were associated with burnout feelings. Female gender and country of work from SEE largely determine satisfactory working conditions, the possibility of parenthood leaves, amount of leisure time, mobbing experiences and burnout feelings among European CM/ID trainees and young specialists.

Project description:Molecular technologies have allowed laboratories to detect and establish the profiles of human cancers by identifying a variety of somatic variants. In order to improve personalized patient care, we have established a next-generation sequencing (NGS) test to screen for somatic variants in primary or advanced cancers. In this study, we describe the laboratory quality management program for NGS testing, and also provide an overview of the somatic variants identified in over 1000 patient samples as well as their implications in clinical practice.Over the past one-and-a-half years, our laboratory received a total of 1028 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissues, which consisted of non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs), colon adenocarcinomas, glioma/glioblastomas, melanomas, breast carcinomas, and other tumor types. During this time period, we implemented a series of quality control (QC) checks that included (1) pre-DNA extraction, (2) DNA quantification, (3) DNA quality, (4) library quantification, (5) post-emulsification PCR, and (6) post-sequencing metrics. At least 10 ng of genomic DNA (gDNA) were used to prepare barcoded libraries using the AmpliSeq CHPv2. Samples were multiplexed and sequenced on Ion Torrent 318 chips using the Ion PGM System. Variants were identified using the Variant Caller Plugin, and annotation and functional predictions were performed using the Golden Helix SVS.A total of 1005 samples passed QC1-3, and following additional library preparation QC checkpoints, 877 samples were sequenced. Samples were classified into two categories: wild-type (127) and positive for somatic variants (750). Somatic variants were classified into clinically actionable (60%) and non-actionable (40%).The use of NGS in routine clinical laboratory practice allowed for the detection of tumor profiles that are essential for the selection of targeted therapies and identification of applicable clinical trials, contributing to the improvement of personalized patient care in oncology.

Project description:AIMS: Mentoring has been used extensively in the business world to enhance performance and maximise potential. Despite this, there is currently a paucity of literature describing mentoring for surgical trainees. This study examined the current extent of mentoring and investigated future needs to support this. METHODS: An electronic, 47-item, self-administered questionnaire survey was distributed via national and regional surgical mailing lists and websites through the Association of Surgeons in Training and Specialty Associations in the UK and Republic of Ireland. RESULTS: Overall, 565 fully completed responses were received from trainees in all specialties, grades and training regions. A total of 48.7 % of respondents reported that they have a surgical mentor, with no significant gender difference (p = 0.65). Of respondents, 52.5 % considered their educational supervisor and 45.5 % their current consultant as mentors. Modal duration of mentoring relationships was 1-2 years (24.4 %). A total of 90.2 % of mentors were in the same specialty, 60.7 % in the same hospital, and 88.7 % in the same training region. Mentors covered clinical and professional matters (99.3 %) versus pastoral and non-clinical matters (41.1 %). Mentoring was commonly face to face or via email and not documented (64.7 %). Of the 51.3 % without a mentor, 89.7 % would like a clinical mentor and 51.0 % a pastoral mentor (p < 0.001). Priority mentoring areas included career progression (94.9 %), research (75.2 %), clinical skills (66.9 %) and clinical confidence (58.4 %). A total of 94.3 % would be willing to act as a peer mentor. Only 8.7 % had received mentoring training; 83 % wish to undertake this. CONCLUSIONS: Less than half of surgical trainees identified a mentor. The majority want mentoring on professional topics during their training and would additionally be willing to peer-mentor colleagues, although few have received training for this. Despite an identified need, there is currently no structure for organising this and little national provision for mentoring.

Project description:Epidemics of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are a danger to civilian and military populations worldwide. Health security and mitigation of infectious disease threats is a priority of the United States Government and the Department of Defense (DoD). Next generation sequencing (NGS) and Bioinformatics (BI) enhances traditional biosurveillance by providing additional data to understand transmission, identify resistance and virulence factors, make predictions, and update risk assessments. As more and more laboratories adopt NGS and BI technologies they encounter challenges in building local capacity. In addition to choosing the right sequencing platform and approach, considerations must also be made for the complexity of bioinformatics analyses, data storage, as well as personnel and computational requirements. To address these needs, a comprehensive training program was developed covering wet lab and bioinformatics approaches to NGS. The program is meant to be modular and adaptive to meet both common and individualized needs of medical research and public health laboratories across the DoD. The training program was first deployed internationally to the Basic Science Laboratory of the US Army Medical Research Directorate-Africa in Kisumu, Kenya, which is an overseas Lab of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). A week-long workshop with intensive focus on targeted sequencing and the bioinformatics of genome assembly (n = 24 participants) was held. Post-workshop self-assessment (completed by 21 participants) noted significant median gains in knowledge domains related to NGS targeted sequencing, bioinformatics for genome assembly, and sequence quality assessment. The participants also reported that the information on study design, sample preparation, sequencing quality control, data quality assessment, reporting, and basic and advanced bioinformatics analysis were the most useful information presented in the training. While longer-term evaluations are planned, the training resulted in significant short-term improvement of a laboratory's self-reported wet lab and bioinformatics capabilities. This framework can be used for future DoD laboratory development in the area of NGS and BI for infectious disease surveillance, ultimately enhancing this global DoD capability.

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Current mentorship practices in the training of the next generation of clinical microbiology and infectious disease specialists: an international cross-sectional survey.

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