“When you’re at ATS in May, do you ever find yourself thinking, “Gosh, those PI-TB members are a ton of fun. I sure wish I didn’t have to wait another year to interact with them again?” If so, read on! We’ve got just the thing for you: a brand-new mechanism for year-round mentorship, feedback, and support from your friends in the PI-TB Assembly.”
-Bashar Staitieh, MD
Chair, PI-TB Early Career Working Group
The “Career Consultation Service” is an initiative of the Early Career Working Group of the Pulmonary Infections and Tuberculosis (PI-TB) Assembly that seeks to provide a forum for career guidance and informal mentorship for junior PI-TB members throughout the calendar year.
The ATS Mentoring Program has provided valuable opportunities for in-person networking and mentorship during the annual conference in May. To extend mentorship throughout the year, the PI-TB Career Consultation Service aims to provide opportunities for crosstalk and career advice between junior and senior Assembly members year-round.
The mission of the PI-TB Career Consultation Service is to create an accessible and valuable resource that provides direct access to peer- and senior-mentorship and advice to support the next generation of students, physicians, and investigators.
To achieve these ends, the program seeks to connect trainee and junior clinicians and scientists with other members of the PI-TB Assembly who can serve as “consultants”, with the goal of providing directed career advice on targeted and focused topics. By providing access to consultation from a wide range of peer and senior scientists from outside an individual’s home institution, the program can offer a unique perspective to trainees and junior members.
A list of topics for potential consultations that may be appropriate for this service are issues relating to:
- The nuts-and-bolts of research (advice on selecting a mentor and how to be mentor, how to start a research program, or put together a successful research team)
- Feedback on scientific writing (advice on grantsmanship, scientific abstract or aims page review)
- Career transition advice (how to successfully transition from residency to fellowship, clinical fellow to research fellow, or fellowship to junior faculty)
However, individuals should feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns that do not fall strictly into these fields, and we will do our best to respond in a timely manner.
For those looking for broader mentorship, we would encourage participation in the PI-TB mentorship program.
In order to best manage requests, those seeking consultation will complete a brief survey regarding their area of interest and targeted question, and prepare a short bio and CV. Members of the Early Career Working Group of the PI-TB Assembly will then match those seeking advice with an appropriate consultant.
Below is a series of questions that will help us match you with the BEST possible consultants for your needs. Please be as specific as possible with what your goals are for this meeting. This will ensure a more accurate match.
