RESUMEN
In addition to developing innovative research programs, life science research faculty at research-intensive institutions are tasked with providing career mentoring and scientific training to new generations of scientists, including postgraduate, graduate, and undergraduate students. In this essay, we argue for a redefinition of mentoring in laboratory research, to thoroughly distinguish three essential roles played by research faculty relative to their trainees: advisor, educator, and supervisor. In particular, we pay attention to the often unacknowledged and misunderstood role of a faculty member as a supervisor and discuss the impact of neglecting supervisory best practices on trainees, on the diversity of the academic pipeline, and on the research enterprise. We also provide actionable frameworks for research mentors who wish to use inclusive supervisory and pedagogical practices in their laboratory. Finally, we call for more research around the supervisory role of research faculty and its impact on trainees, particularly community college students, in order to help broaden the participation of underrepresented students in STEM fields.
RESUMEN
This article describes the efforts of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing to develop the Spanish language and cultural competency skills of advanced practice nursing students by establishing an elective course, Communicating with the Latino Patient. The need for this training is reflected in the literature, which has shown that language barriers decrease patient satisfaction and quality of care and increase the likelihood of medical error. Fifty-seven first-year master's students participated in this course. The effectiveness of the training was monitored during and after each course by self-assessment surveys of the participants' language acquisition. The data suggest that the most successful outcomes result from limiting class size, emphasizing high interactivity, and incorporating clinical experiences in the instruction, as well as focusing exclusively on intermediate-level speakers when resources are limited. Training can be time consuming and costly, yet graduates agreed that the training was imperative and valuable.