Mentoring during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective from graduate students in biomedical science studies in India
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ABSTRACT: Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43538-021-00002-z.
SUBMITTER: Bapat P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8171227 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of historically underrepresented graduate students, more than half of whom were enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This focus group study represents an initial stage in developing an intervention for historically underrepresented graduate students and their families.BackgroundUnderrepresentation of graduate students of color in STEM has been attributed to a myriad of factors, including a lack of support systems. Familial support is an endorsed reason for persisting in graduate school. It is unclear what historically underrepresented graduate students' experiences are during uncertain times, such as a pandemic.MethodFocus groups were conducted online using a videoconferencing platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five focus groups included: historically underrepresented doctoral students (n = 5), historically underrepresented master's students (n = 6), academic faculty (n = 7), administrator, administrative faculty, and academic faculty (n = 6), and families of historically underrepresented doctoral students (n = 6). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsHistorically underrepresented graduate students experienced difficulties in accessing resources, adjustments to home and family life, amplification of existing nonfinancial issues, and expressed both fears of and hopes for the future.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities in access to resources as well as nonfinancial family support.ImplicationsThis study may help normalize historically underrepresented graduate students' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings include ideas for informing families about graduate school that can enlighten family support efforts for historically underrepresented graduate students and their families.
| S-EPMC8444674 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The ability of scientists to effectively communicate their research, and scientific ideas in general, with a variety of audiences is critical in both academic and non-academic careers. There is currently a dearth of formal and informal science communication training opportunities for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This curriculum paper introduces ComSciCon-Triangle, a graduate student-organized science communication workshop for graduate students in STEM at research universities in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, region. Started in 2015, this annual workshop aims to empower graduate students to be more engaged in communicating their research with the public as well as with fellow scientists. Each workshop consists of interactive panel discussions with invited science communicators (science writers, academics, filmmakers, etc.), informal networking opportunities with invited guests and other attendees, and hands-on sessions for improving oral and written communication skills. Analyzing pre- and post-survey data from all ComSciCon-Triangle attendees from 2015 to 2017, we find that workshop attendees feel significantly more confident in their ability to communicate scientific ideas with both the general public and with other scientists, and more confident submitting a written piece to a popular science publication or journal. We discuss how ComSciCon-Triangle serves as a model for local science communication workshops "for graduate students, organized by graduate students."
| S-EPMC5969415 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The goal of this study was to investigate associations between admissions criteria and performance in Ph.D. programs at Boston University School of Medicine. The initial phase of this project examined student performance in the classroom component of a newly established curriculum named "Foundations in Biomedical Sciences (FiBS)". Quantitative measures including undergraduate grade point average (GPA), graduate record examination (GRE; a standardized, computer-based test) scores for the verbal (assessment of test takers' ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information and concepts provided in writing) and quantitative (assessment of test takers' problem-solving ability) components of the examination, previous research experience, and competitiveness of previous research institution were used in the study. These criteria were compared with competencies in the program defined as students who pass the curriculum as well as students categorized as High Performers. These data indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between FiBS performance and undergraduate GPA, GRE scores, and competitiveness of undergraduate institution. No significant correlations were found between FiBS performance and research background. By taking a data-driven approach to examine admissions and performance, we hope to refine our admissions criteria to facilitate an unbiased approach to recruitment of students in the life sciences and to share our strategy to support similar goals at other institutions.
| S-EPMC5882097 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes in pharmacy graduate students' (PhGS) lives. While pharmacy graduate programs across the U.S. have reported adjustments due to the pandemic, there is currently no data on the PhGS' wellness, and the impact on and extent to which offered supports and guidance has met PhGS needs.ObjectiveThis study's objectives were 1) to explore PhGS' perspectives on their challenges and the impact of these challenges on their wellness, and 2) to identify PhGS' suggestions for pharmacy graduate programs to improve guidance and support offered during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis study conducted semi-structured interviews based on the Objective, Reflective, Interpretative, Decisional (ORID) methodology. Pharmacy students working on completing a PhD in programs across the United States were invited to participate. All interviews were conducted using the Zoom platform between May and June 2020. Digital audio recordings were auto transcribed using the Trint platform. Thematic analysis was conducted using the six-dimensional model of wellness developed by Hettler as a guide, while open coding of the PhGS' suggestions was conducted inductively.ResultsThirteen PhGS across six universities in the U.S. were interviewed. During the pandemic, all six dimensions of the Wellness model were found to be challenged for PhGS. PhGS' challenges differed based on their laboratory-based vs. non-laboratory-based research settings. International PhGS reported differing challenges from domestic PhGS. PhGS also provided 18 practical suggestions for improving the teaching process and facilitating student's academic growth in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsDespite the COVID-19 pandemic, graduate programs should continue developing a robust and tailored system to encourage and maintain mentorship programs to facilitate graduate students' successful path through their doctoral studies. Moreover, the suggestions offered by the PhGS participants in this study, when appropriately implemented, can also position graduate program success post-pandemic.
| S-EPMC8457981 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PURPOSE: The first year is stressful for new medical students who have to cope with curricular challenges, relocation issues, and separation from family. Mentoring reduces stress and facilitates adaptation. A program for faculty mentoring of first-semester students was initiated by the Medical Education Unit in 2009 at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi. Feedback after the first year revealed that mentees were reluctant to meet their mentors, some of whom were senior faculty. In the following year, student mentors (near-peers) were recruited to see if that would improve the rate and quality of contact between mentees and mentors. METHODS: Volunteer faculty (n=52), near-peers (n=57), and new entrants (n=148) admitted in 2010 participated in the ratio of 1:1:3. The program aims were explained through an open house meeting, for reinforcement, and another meeting was conducted 5 months later. At year-end, a feedback questionnaire was administered (response rate: faculty, 28 [54%]; mentees, 74 [50%]). RESULTS: Many respondent faculty (27, 96%) and mentees (65, 88%) believed that near-peer mentoring was useful. Compared to the preceding year, the proportion of meetings between faculty mentors and mentees increased from 4.0±5.2 to 7.4±8.8; mentees who reported benefit increased from 23/78 (33%) to 34/74 (46%). Benefits resulted from mentors' and near-peers' demonstration of concern/support/interaction/counseling (35, 47.3% mentees); 23 mentees (82%) wanted to become near-peers themselves. CONCLUSION: Near-peer mentoring supplements faculty mentoring of first-year medical students by increasing system effectiveness.
| S-EPMC4309947 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Biomedical research has become a digital data-intensive endeavor, relying on secure and scalable computing, storage, and network infrastructure, which has traditionally been purchased, supported, and maintained locally. For certain types of biomedical applications, cloud computing has emerged as an alternative to locally maintained traditional computing approaches. Cloud computing offers users pay-as-you-go access to services such as hardware infrastructure, platforms, and software for solving common biomedical computational problems. Cloud computing services offer secure on-demand storage and analysis and are differentiated from traditional high-performance computing by their rapid availability and scalability of services. As such, cloud services are engineered to address big data problems and enhance the likelihood of data and analytics sharing, reproducibility, and reuse. Here, we provide an introductory perspective on cloud computing to help the reader determine its value to their own research.
| S-EPMC6002019 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In order to provide undergraduate students with a full, rich online learning experience we adapted pre-existing online content including graduate courses from Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals (JHU EP) program. These online courses were designed using published methodologies and held to a high level of rigor of a Masters-level curriculum. Adapting pre-existing online course material enabled us to more rapidly adapt to the COVID-19 shutdown of in-person education. We adapted content to meet the majority of lab-based learning objectives rather than generating self-recorded lecture material and allowing us to focus faculty time on addressing student needs. Here we discuss benefits, challenges, and methods for replicating these courses, and lessons to be applied in future offerings from this experience.
| S-EPMC7781414 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The increasing mental health inequalities between women and men following the COVID-19 crisis represent a major public health concern. Public health measures to mitigate the pandemic could severely impact populations with high prevalence of mental health problems such as graduate students. We aimed to document the gendered experience of the lockdown and its association with depressive symptoms among graduate students in Quebec. We contrast two hypotheses: whether inequalities in depressive symptoms between women and men could be linked to their differential exposure or vulnerability to work, family and study conditions, with the mediating role of work-to-family interference (WIF) and family-to-work interference (FIW). This observational study used path analysis to test our hypotheses using a cross-sectional data collected from 1,790 graduate students from three universities in Quebec. The exposure hypothesis received more support. Women reported more stress regarding new teaching methods, which was associated directly with more depressive symptoms, and indirectly through WIF. Women were more worried about COVID-19, which was associated with more depressive symptoms, and indirectly through WIF and FIW. However, women reported less FIW and more emotional support, both respectively associated with less depressive symptoms. The policy measures taken after the COVID-19 were not gender-neutral. This study demonstrates the importance of taking the potentially gendered effects of policies into consideration, and points to mitigating actions that can forestall the exacerbation of gendered inequalities in mental health.
| S-EPMC8461224 | biostudies-literature
Project description:COVID-19-associated university closures moved classes online and interrupted ongoing research in universities throughout the US. In Vanderbilt University, first year biomedical sciences PhD students were in the middle of their spring semester coursework and in the process of identifying a thesis research lab, while senior students who had already completed the first year were at various stages of their graduate training and were working on their thesis research projects. To learn how the university closure and resulting interruptions impacted our students' learning and well-being, we administered two surveys, one to the first year students and the other to the senior students. Our main findings show that the university closure negatively impacted the overall psychological health of about one-third of the survey respondents, time management was the aspect of remote learning that caused the highest stress for close to 50% of the students, and interaction with their peers and in-person discussions were the aspects of on-campus learning that students missed the most during the remote learning period. Additionally, survey responses also show that students experienced positive outcomes as a result of remote learning that included spending increased time on additional learning interests, with family, on self-care, and for dissertation or manuscript writing. Though a variety of supportive resources are already available to students in our institution, results from our survey suggest enhancing these measures and identifying new ones targeted to addressing the academic and emotional needs of PhD students would be beneficial. Such support measures may be appropriate for students in other institutions as well.
| S-EPMC8445460 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The clinical practicum for biomedical science students aims to provide graduates with the knowledge and skills required to work in diagnostic laboratory settings. This study examines graduates' perspectives on content, teachers and clinical training and their satisfaction rates based on the skills gained during training. The study was conducted on females who graduated from Qatar University between 2015 and 2020. We used a previously validated questionnaire called CPAT-QU. Telephonic interviews were conducted and were analyzed using SPSS. The results showed a high satisfaction rate, of 80%, for the content and organization of the clinical training. The participants' main concerns included the evaluation criteria, as 8.7% were not satisfied. The students suggested increasing the length of the training in order to obtain experience that was more practical. The students' satisfaction with the teachers was 70% in terms of their attitude, command of knowledge and ability to convey knowledge. In total, 69.5% of the graduates claimed that their instructors were interested in teaching and 4.4% claimed their instructors conveyed disinterest in teaching. The Qatar University graduates were satisfied with the content of their clinical training. However, they reported some gaps in this training. Identifying these gaps will help in restructuring clinical training to improve student experience.
| S-EPMC9565152 | biostudies-literature