Preparing to Define your Future: A PostDoctoral Fellow’s journey through the Department of Pediatrics
Dr. Patrick McPhee, PhD
Supervisors: Drs. Timmons, Gorter, Morrison
In this presentation I will share my successes and challenges working through a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics. I will provide an overview of my research as a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF), discuss how to negotiate roles and responsibilities as a PDF, and share strategies to strengthen your position for a career in Academia. Throughout the presentation I will share lessons learned from working with Faculty in the Department of Pediatrics.
Objectives:
- To understand the roles and responsibilities of a PDF in the Department of Pediatrics
- To learn how to define and achieve your own goals as a PDF
- To understand how to balance your research, career aspirations, and personal life as a PDF
A national training program: How are researchers and families partnering together to build capacity in family engagement in research?
Dr. Andrea Cross, PhD
Supervisor: Dr. Jan Willem Gorter
Internationally, it is now recognized that health services research benefits from meaningful stakeholder involvement. However, how stakeholders (e.g., patients and families) are engaged in research is not self-evident and the demand for such roles has not kept pace with the need for appropriate training. In this presentation, I will share evidence and experiences of researchers and families in a national online training program: ‘Family Engagement in Research Certificate of Completion Program’, run in partnership by Kids Brain Health Network, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, and McMaster Centre for Continuing Education. The program is unique in that it brings families together with researchers in order to enhance knowledge and skills surrounding family engagement in research and to build a trusted community for leadership, mentorship and collaboration.
Objectives:
- Build awareness of the value of training in family engagement in research
- Identify tools and strategies for supporting meaningful family engagement throughout the research process
macpedsrrt.ca 