Excerpt

The statement of task for the committee is: A committee will advise the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare and Quality Research (AHRQ) on issues regarding research personnel needs as they relate to the administration of the National Research Service Awards (NRSA) program. The committee will gather and analyze information on employment and education trends of research scientists in the broad fields of the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences, and in the subfields of oral health, nursing, and health services research. The analysis will take into consideration the demographic changes in the United States, changes in disease pattern, and changes in scientific opportunity. The committee will deal broadly with the training needs and direction of the NRSA program as they relate to relevant federal research training policies, the impact of changes in the level of support for research and training, and the emergence of cross-disciplinary research areas. The analysis will include an estimate of the future supply of researchers from the current and future population of graduate students and postdoctorates, and the committee will make recommendations on the overall production rate of research personnel in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical sciences for the period 2010 to 2015 as it relates to the NRSA program. Separate consideration will be given to training with respect to NIH dual-degree and career development programs, and NIH programs that are designed to address diversity in the research workforce.

Reflecting the broad fields identified in the statement of task, the committee divided the research enterprise into three major areas: basic biomedical, behavioral and social sciences, and clinical research. These areas are discussed in detail in individual chapters in this report. Additional chapters are devoted to dentistry, nursing, and health services research, even though these can be thought of as subfields of the major areas. An additional chapter addresses training issues that cut across the above fields. Recommendations are found in the individual chapters and are referenced here by number following the recommendation.

Contents

• The National Academies
• Committee to Study the National Needs for Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Personnel
• Board on Higher Education and Workforce
• Preface
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Summary
  • FUTURE WORKFORCE PROJECTIONS
  • ECONOMIC REALITIES
  • RECOMMENDATION ON THE NRSA POSITIONS
  • PRIORITIES FOR OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS WITH LARGE COST IMPLICATIONS
  • OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
  • CONCLUSION
• 1. Context and Issues
  • STUDY CONTEXT AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS
  • RESEARCH TRAINING AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
  • NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM
  • NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ROLE IN ASSESSING PERSONNEL NEEDS
  • THE CURRENT STUDY
  • RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
  • RECOMMENDATION ON NRSA POSITIONS
  • PRIORITIES FOR OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS WITH LARGE COSTS IMPLICATIONS
• 2. Crosscutting Issues
  • FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE NRSA PROGRAM
  • INDIRECT COST RATES
  • RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH
  • NIH DIVERSITY INITIATIVES WITHIN THE NRSA PROGRAM
  • NIH DATA SYSTEMS
  • INTERDISCIPLINARY FIELDS AND THE EMERGENCE OF NEW KINDS OF TRAINING PROGRAMS
  • COORDINATION WITH NIH
  • INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIOMEDICAL WORKFORCE
• 3. Basic Biomedical Sciences
  • INTRODUCTION
  • BIOMEDICAL RESEACH WORKFORCE
  • EDUCATIONAL PROGRESSION
  • THE NUMBER AND DEMOGRAPHICS OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES PH.D. RECIPIENTS
  • EMPLOYMENT IMMEDIATELY AFTER RECEIVING THE PH.D. DEGREE
  • POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
  • THE PARTICIPATION OF INTERNATIONAL POSTDOCTORATES IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
  • CAREER PROGRESSION
  • PHYSICIAN RESEARCHERS
  • U.S. CAPACITY TO IDENTIFY OUTSTANDING APPLICANTS TO M.D./PH.D. PROGRAMS
  • FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF BIOMEDICAL TRAINING AND THE NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM
  • FUNDING OF POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
  • POSTDOCTORAL REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
  • CAREER OUTCOMES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 4. Behavioral and Social Sciences Research
  • INTRODUCTION
  • CHARACTERISTICS AND DATA
  • POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING
  • EMPLOYMENT TRENDS
  • DETAILS OF ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
  • RESEARCH TRAINING AND THE NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 5. Clinical Sciences Research
  • DEFINING THE CLINICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE
  • EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THE CLINICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE
  • GRADUATE STUDENTS
  • GRADUATE SUPPORT AND THE ROLE OF THE NRSA IN TRAINING
  • POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
  • THE CLINICIAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 6. Oral Health
  • INTRODUCTION
  • THE FACULTY SHORTAGE
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 7. Nursing Research
  • CHANGING THE CAREER TRAJECTORY FOR NURSE-SCIENTISTS
  • ENHANCING SUSTAINED PRODUCTITY FOR NURSE-SCIENTISTS
  • RESPONDING TO THE SHORTAGE OF NURSE-INVESTIGATORS
  • CHARACTERISTICS OF NURSING PROGRAM FROM THE RESEARCH-DOCTORATE STUDY
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
• 8. Health Services Research
  • FEDERAL SUPPORT OF HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
  • HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH WORKFORCE
  • FEDERAL HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH FUNDING
  • CAREERS IN HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • REFERENCES
• Appendixes
  • Appendix A Committee Biographies
  • Appendix B Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Training Grants and Fellowship
  • Appendix C Classification of Ph.D. Fields
  • Appendix D Demographic Projections of the Research Workforce in the Biomedical, Clinical, and Behavioral Sciences, 2006–2016
  • Appendix E Demographic Projections of the Research Workforce in the Biomedical, Clinical, and Behavioral Sciences, 2006–2016 (Using the System Dynamics Simulation Methodology)
  • Appendix F Characteristics of Doctorates

This project was supported by Contract/Grant No. DHHS-5294, Task Order #187 between the National Academy of Science and the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.

Suggested citation:

National Research Council. 2011. Research Training in the Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Sciences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the Committee to Study the National Needs for Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Personnel and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.