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i. Quarterly group MD/PhD student meetings:

Students in the program are expected to attend quarterly MD/PhD group meetings where successful clinician-scientist speakers are invited to present on topics of importance to clinician-scientist trainees and their careers. The speakers are selected based on their success conducting high-impact, patient-relevant research that has high potential for translation, their ability to effectively communicate their path to becoming a successful clinician-scientist and/or their achievement of leadership positions. Special attention is paid to inviting speakers who identify with underrepresented groups in the clinician-scientist population. Topics of special interest to the students have included developing a successful research program, balancing research and clinical practice, building research teams, work-life balance, obtaining research funding and contract negotiations. After their talks, speakers hold an open discussion during which students have an opportunity to interact with these successful clinician-scientist role models.

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ii. MD/PhD Advisor Program:

A special MD/PhD Advisor Program has also been developed in concert with the MD Program. This occurs in the context of the larger MD Advisor Program, except that we specially select successful clinician-scientists at McMaster University to pair with the MD/PhD student. This dyad then develops a working relationship that lasts throughout the entire duration of the student’s seven-year MD/PhD training. Advisors agree to be readily accessible their students, meet with the student in person at least four times per year, review student academic progress and maintain and build their skills as an advisor through an annual update. This program provides yet another resource for students to develop their research and knowledge translation skills and better understand the variety of paths that can be taken toward a successful career as a clinician-scientist. Many of our advisors hold leadership positions in the university and/or hospital setting and can mentor students in these important areas as well.

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iii. Junior-Senior MD/PhD Student Mentor Program:

Here, more-senior students (i.e., those who have been in the program three years or more) are paired with an incoming MD/PhD student to help ease the transitions to the program, and to and from the MD and PhD phases, providing support and guidance throughout. This was developed to address the challenges of transitioning to and from MD and PhD phases of training.

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iv. Horizontal clinical electives:

Students in our program are also strongly encouraged to plan and participate in regular horizontal-clinical-electives concurrent to their PhD training block after the first pre-clerkship MD training year. This allows for the optimal integration of research and clinical training and provides exposure to the various medical specialties to which students may eventually apply for residency positions in. These experiences can also help to guide future career decisions and assist them by stimulating broader and more clinically relevant research questions.

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v. Yearly individual MD/PhD student meetings:

Every year the program director meets with each student in the program to review their progress, their CV and progress toward meeting the program goals and learning outcomes. We also utilize the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Individual Career Development Plan framework and the accompanying CIHR form (PDF) to guide these discussions.

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vi. Scholarship resource and feedback process:

A repository of successful past MD/PhD student applications-for-funding has been developed and is shared with MD/PhD students during the period of scholarship application preparation in the fall. The MD/PhD program director also offers to review all scholarship applications submitted by students in the program. More-senior students also assist junior students’ scholarship applications when desired.