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Career Development Forum. 28 th August 2008. NPA Core Competencies. For postdocs, mastering a range of skills is essential preparation for becoming independent investigators. Established six core competecies to offer guidance for postdoctoral training.
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Career Development Forum 28th August 2008
NPA Core Competencies • For postdocs, mastering a range of skills is essential preparation for becoming independent investigators. • Established six core competecies to offer guidance for postdoctoral training. • It is noted that the career aspirations and prior experience of each postdoc will lead to emphasis on different competenciesc
Six Core Competencies • Scientific Knowledge • Research Skill Development • Communications Skills • Professionalism • Leadership and Management Skills • Responsible Conduct of Research
Scientific Knowledge Specific skills • Analytical approach to defining scientific questions • Design of scientifically testable hypotheses • Broad based knowledge acquisition • Interpretation and analysis of data
2. Research Skill Development Specific skills • Laboratory techniques/safety • Experimental Design • Data analysis and interpretation • Statistical analysis • Effective evaluation of the literature • Principles of the peer review process
3. Research Skill Development Specific skills • Writing - Papers, Grants, Career • Speaking - Presenting research, Interviews, Teaching • Interpersonal Communication - Negotiation, Performance reviews • Special situations - Networking, managing the media
4. Professionalism Specific skills • Personal: Connecting with yourself • Social: Maintaining work-life balance • Workplace - Developing skills as a member of a team/dept. • Institutional - Connecting as a representative of an institution • Collegial - Connecting with the discipline of expertise • Universal: Connecting with society
5. Leadership and Management Skills Specific skills • Management - Research staff, projects, data, resources. • Leadership - Running meetings, delegating, motivating and inspiring.
6. Responsible Conduct of Research Specific skills • Data Ownership/Sharing - Collaborators, industry, ownership of data • Publication Practices - Criteria for authorship, reporting clinical trials • Research with Human Subjects • Research with Animal Subjects • Identifying Misconduct • Conflicts of Interest - Personal, intellectual, financial, competition
Summary • These are six areas in which the NPA recommend a postdoc have training in order to prepare for life as an independent investigator. • Which of these do you feel you are most lacking? • Which of these should the PDA focus on?