Pharmacoepidemiologist's Toolbox for Professional Empowerment

‎1. Course Aim ‎
The course will address on multiple professional development topics with each lecture providing the necessary ‎tools for the attendees to apply the discussed principles to their own career paths. Faculty will give four, 35-‎minute-long didactic lectures, with 35-minute panel discussion with course faculty to further discuss the ‎importance of professional development. In total the course will consist of approximately 3.5 hours of ‎instruction in real-time with 20 minutes of break included. ‎

‎2. Requisites Statement ‎
It is suggested that all participants take the personality test https://www.16personalities.com or
Free Big Five Personality Test - Accurate scores of your personality traits (truity.com) prior to the course. No payment required.‎

‎3. Course Objectives
‎1. To identify tools for transitions through roles and stages throughout a career in Pharmacoepidemiology
‎2. To recognize the six attributes of inclusive leadership and how to employ them in your own professional ‎development
‎3. To provide practical advice on deciding and negotiating, and on how to improve at both skills ‎
‎4. To discuss best practices for requesting letters of recommendation for various opportunities

‎4. Syllabus Outline‎
This course will be moderated by Drs. Caitlin Knox and Juan Hincapie Castillo, and the presentations will cover ‎the topics below:‎

‎Introduction to professional empowerment (15 minutes)‎
Dr. Vin Lo Re

‎Letting Go of Habits that Hold You Back – What to Do Instead (35 minutes)‎
Dr. Mary Beth Ritchey

The skillsets for technical scientific achievement, project management, and business acumen are all needed in the ‎field of pharmacoepidemiology. Further, transitions from student to faculty, individual contributor to people ‎manager, and from one institution to another require differing mixtures of these skills. The habits that influence ‎success early in a career can contribute to stagnation mid-career. With a focus on research and a career in our ‎specific field, this session will describe approaches to identifying and modifying workplace habits.‎
‎ ‎
Book recommendation and main reference: "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" by Marshall ‎Goldsmith.‎

‎Traits of Inclusive Leadership: What are they and why are they important? (35 minutes) ‎
Dr. Caitlin Knox

Being a leader can be defined by several attributes, but those that embrace individual differences and ‎understand that the context of leadership is changing have specific attributes that can be leveraged for an ‎advantage. Understanding how to encourage and develop diversity within your professional network and teams ‎is important framework for developing inclusive behaviours and becoming an inclusive leader. This session will ‎introduce the concept of inclusive leadership and discuss how it may benefit you and your professional career ‎when utilized.‎

BREAK 10 minutes

‎Decision-Making and Negotiation: Thinking like a gambler (35 minutes) ‎
Dr Robert Platt

Decision-making and negotiation are two critical skills that are almost never taught in academic programs. We ‎make decisions and negotiate every day, sometimes without realizing. Understanding how to assess risk and ‎make decisions under uncertainty is important; we usually don't have all the information we'd like, but still have ‎to decide. Thinking like a gambler can help you focus on what is at stake, and what the expected outcomes of ‎each choice are. It also highlights the risks of not deciding; this is usually an endorsement of the status quo. ‎Thinking like a gambler will also help hone your negotiation skills; in a negotiation it's both your and your ‎counterpart's interests that need to be considered. The session will provide advice on deciding and negotiating, ‎and on how to improve at both skills.‎

‎Demystifying letters of recommendation: Best practices for letter requesters and letter writers (35 ‎minutes)‎
Dr. Juan Hincapie Castillo

Applying for jobs? Further postgraduate education? Awards, scholarships, fellowships? You will probably be ‎asked to provide letters of recommendation. While the process can be time-consuming for both the person ‎asking for the letter and the letter writer, there are strategies and tools to help everyone to make this process ‎more efficient. The truth is that we are all busy and the best way to get the best letter of recommendation that ‎you need is to do a lot of heavy lift on your end. This heavy lift would include doing some preliminary work ‎and strategic thinking. In this session, the presenter will offer some practical advice on how to strategize asking ‎for letters of recommendation and how to best tailor them to the opportunity you are seeking. The session will ‎provide practical information to both letter requesters and letter writers.‎

BREAK 10 minutes

‎Panel Discussion/ Q&A with course faculty (35 minutes)‎