“I see our students needing tools to better cope with what they are encountering,” said Angie O’Neal, associate director in the Office of Research Education and Training at the USA College of Medicine. “Lab work and research aren't always easy and can create a high-stress environment.”
And that’s before you factor in a global health pandemic that paused many aspects of the educational experience and placed some research on hold.
With a goal of helping students thrive, O’Neal set out to find a way to offer support and some real-life tools graduate students could use to better handle challenges specific to being a scientist-in-training. That’s when she found a program offered by the National Institutes of Health called “Becoming a Resilient Scientist” and enlisted the help of three co-facilitators at USA to fully develop the initiative.
Feedback from the first session was so positive, the series will be ongoing and may be extended to other College of Medicine students in the future. O’Neal said comments from participants emphasized that all students should take part in the program. One student said they wished they would have had the training before joining their lab because it has been beneficial with changing how they communicate with their current mentor.
The series delves into topics including cognitive distortion and imposter fears, and calls for weekly group sessions led by a facilitator.
Cognitive distortion is described as a pattern of negative thinking that interferes with someone’s life and relationships. Imposter fears, also known as imposter syndrome, are feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt that often continue despite someone’s apparent success.
The group sessions are vital, O’Neal said, as a way to create a confidential community among the students: “I think it’s so powerful for them to be in the same room together and realize they are going through many of the same things. I hope our students will see they are not alone.”
Co-facilitators of the resilient scientist series, which is now a requirement for all first-year basic medical science students, are Dr. Becky Smith, Tiquera Hall and LoRen Modisa.
