Program Overview

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Introduction to the Professional and Research Education Program (PREP)

The Professional and Research Education Program (PREP) is designed to provide effective, timely, and necessary education to help prepare trainees and faculty members in their research careers.

Vision and Goals

The vision of PREP is to provide education that helps prepare trainees and faculty members for their research careers. The goals of PREP include:

• Delivering essential education on professionalism and research
• Upholding an atmosphere of professionalism, collegiality, and collaboration
• Promoting skillsets not accessible in academic programs
• Providing education to complement current programs

Program Benefits

There are many benefits for trainees and faculty members who take part in PREP activities, including:

• Getting acquainted with the local research community
• Building collaborations with those outside their field
• Identifying strengths and areas to build on in their career progression

Education and Training

The focus of PREP education and training is to help learners prepare for their current and/or future careers. This education and training is meant to fill a gap in accessibility and complement other programs, both academic and extra-curricular in the community.

Program Areas

There are 5 main areas of focus under PREP:

1. Funding: This module is meant to help learners in their quest for research funding. Sessions offered under this module include:

• Finding Funding: identifying sources of funding that apply to their area of research
• Grant-writing: obtaining expert mentoring to understand and perfect various components of a research grant
• Other sessions can be developed as requested

2. Career Development: This module offers education and training on specific areas of career development to help learners reach their goals in this area. Specific sessions relate to both academic and non-academic careers:

• Career Preparation 101: introducing learners to their career-related aptitudes and transferable skills
• CV and Resume Development: knowing when to use which tool for the career they desire
• Job Search: learning how to access the job market that is relevant to them
• Academic Interview: learning what is expected and how to prepare for an interview in academia
• Non-Academic Interview: preparing for an interview in a non-academic organization

3. Research Management: Leading a research enterprise is similar to running a small business. These sessions aim to help learners develop their abilities in essential areas:

• Interviewing & Hiring: building their team with the right mix of individuals
• Employee Engagement & Motivation: when employees are engaged and motivated, everyone benefits
• Managing Conflict: conflict is a regular part of doing business, but there are successful ways to manage this challenge
• Budgeting: keeping track of their bottom line
• Mentoring: being a role model for trainees and providing them with the skills to mentor others in the future
• Managing Intellectual Property: knowing their rights and responsibilities when it comes to their intellectual property
• Time Management: managing their time effectively to get the most out of their day

4. Communicate, Disseminate, Apply Research: What is the value of research, if it cannot be effectively shared and added to the bank of knowledge? Ways to share research can use a variety of strategies:

• Effective Oral and Poster Presentations: communicating research through oral and poster presentations can be valuable ways to get their research out there, if done well
• Media Skills: discussing their research in plain language can help gain support from those outside their field
• Getting Published: obtaining strategies to increase their publication success
• Knowledge Translation: their research should make an impact on their field

5. Research Ethics & Conduct: Research is an essential activity to build knowledge, but there are responsibilities in its practice. To help navigate the area of ethics and responsibility in research, PREP offers sessions on:

• Responsible Conduct of Research: exploring solutions to current, complex issues in research
• Research Integrity: learning to avoid accidental scholarly misconduct in accordance with Dalhousie University's Scholarly Misconduct Policy

Graduate Student Research Day

The Graduate Student Research Day has been an annual event since 2005, when it began in the Faculty of Medicine. Now, this event invites participation from graduate students from across the University, who are involved in health research. The main objectives of the Graduate Student Research Day are:

• To help students and trainees enhance their awareness of ongoing research and opportunities
• To allow students and trainees an opportunity to critically assess the features of a good research project
• To provide students and trainees an opportunity to consider how research fits with the ongoing process of health education

Transcript Notation

PREP is recognized by Dalhousie University Faculty of Graduate Studies and Medicine. Students who are affiliated with either faculty (as current graduate students or medical students) are eligible to receive a notation on their transcripts after completing seven (7) PREP sessions, at any time during their academic careers. This notation signifies the student has completed a professional & research education program.

Dalhousie University Co-Curricular Record

Students are encouraged to add their PREP participation to their co-curricular records to document this learning achieved above and beyond their regular academic programs. All extra-curricular accomplishments, learning, and other related activities should be included in the co-curricular record to give a complete picture of student achievements while studying at Dalhousie University.

History

PREP responds to the need for professional and research education and training beyond what is offered in traditional academic programs. This Program was initiated in May 2006 (as the IHRTP - Integrated Health Research Training Partnership) through the generous support of the Nova Scotia Health Foundation (NSHRF). PREP is a collaboration across Dalhousie University with current faculty partners being Medicine, Dentistry, Health Professions, and Graduate Studies.