Evaluation Process

An outcome of primary importance to the Mayo Clinic Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program is whether participation in the program adequately prepares scholars to become successful clinical research investigators.

Outcomes data tracked for each BIRCWH scholar includes academic positions, grants submitted and awarded, peer-reviewed publications published, patents received, and other traditional academic career accomplishments, such as recognition awards for teaching and research.

When you enter the program — and again each year — you are surveyed to assess your competencies and accomplishments. This progressive information is reviewed by you and your mentors during your meetings with the BIRCWH Executive Committee.

After you graduate from the BIRCWH program, you will continue to be surveyed annually regarding your career progression, grant funding and publication record; this information is needed to meet National Institutes of Health (NIH) reporting requirements.

Outcome data collected

The administrative data collection system for tracking the academic progress of BIRCWH scholars includes a series of short-term instruments, which assess markers of program success on an ongoing basis. The quantitative components of this information are maintained in a relational database, which allows for immediate retrieval and analysis. Data includes:

  • Assessment of successful recruitment of diverse scholars
  • Scholars successfully matched with excellent multidisciplinary mentor teams
  • Relationships between scholars and mentor teams
  • Scholars developing interdisciplinary research plans
  • Implementation and applicability of curriculum
  • Scholars completing academic and curricular milestones in a timely fashion
  • Success of scholars in an academic curriculum

Also tracked are intermediate- and long-term outcomes, including:

  • Completion rate
  • Successful completion of minority scholars
  • Publications of scholars
  • Diversity of scholars' research
  • Success of scholars in obtaining R01 or (equivalent) grant funding
  • Success of scholars in obtaining faculty positions at high-quality academic medical centers
  • Success of scholars in becoming training mentors of the future
  • Success of scholars in leading interdisciplinary teams