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Multiple challenges face new researchers, clinicians in endocrinology
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The next generation of clinical endocrinologists and endocrine researchers face growing challenges as they enter the field, including diminishing grant funding, competing responsibilities and gender issues, according to a summary from a joint symposium sponsored by the Endocrine Society and the Endocrine Society of Australia.
The collaborative effort between the two societies, held in August 2015, was designed to review literature and questionnaire data, commission a new questionnaire and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the next generation of endocrinologists.
“Recruitment, retention, career development and empowerment of the [next-generation] cohort are all essential issues for the future of endocrinology,” Richard J. Santen, MD, professor of medicine, endocrinology and metabolism at the University of Virginia, and colleagues wrote. “Strategies are needed for endocrine societies to support their [next-generation] members in conducting research and translating innovative, hormone-related findings from basic, translational and clinical science to improve the health of individuals with hormone-related disorders.”
Grant funding
Government research support available to early-career investigators is diminishing in the United States and Australia, and likely reflects a worldwide trend, the authors wrote. Between 2003 and 2013, inflation-adjusted funding for research from the NIH in the United States fell by 23%; funded, independent investigator NIH grants have fallen from 57.9% in 1963 to 14% in 2013. The average age of a first-time investigator has increased from age 37 years to age 45 years, with a greater share of funding awarded to older investigators.
Competing responsibilities
Survey data suggest that researchers are often confronted with managing administration, education, clinical practice and other activities. In addition, increased demand has resulted from a “widening gap” between the number of trained endocrinologists and those needed for patient care, both in the United States and Australia, the authors wrote.
“A recent USA workforce study reported a current gap of 1,500 adult endocrinologists, which represents 28% of the current number of board certified endocrinologists,” the authors wrote, “and this study projected the gap to increase to 2,700 physicians by 2025.”
Women trainees
Endocrine societies should foster career advancement for women in both research and clinical practice, citing a need for role modeling, mentoring and increased exposure to research, while addressing both conscious and unconscious gender biases in career advancement, according to the authors.
“The incoming [Endocrine Society] president noted in his 2016 Women in Endocrinology speech that women are less likely to self-nominate for awards, higher positions and other opportunities than men,” the authors wrote. “This is an area professional societies and groups, such as Women in Endocrinology, can assist with a focus on the [next generation].”
Recommendations
The Next-Gen Task Force, a group commissioned by the Endocrine Society, made several recommendations to address the concerns, including working with program directors and mentors to develop effective online education programs. Other recommendations include development of a comprehensive career development program with outreach specific to clinical, laboratory science and translational or clinical research trainees, and the recruitment of men and women into endocrinology at the undergraduate, graduate and training levels.
“Most agree that a concerted effort to empower, train and support the next generation
of endocrinologists and endocrine researchers is necessary to ensure the viability and vibrancy of our discipline and to optimize our contribution to improving health outcomes,” the authors wrote. – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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