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October 23, 2020

Rockefeller Clinical Scholars to Evaluate New Interactive Web-based Individual Development Plan Platform
By Editorial Staff

An individual development plan (IDP) is a tool to assist trainees with establishing and achieving their career goals, both in the short and long term. By providing an opportunity for reflection and an analysis of one’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as one’s interests and aspirations, it can help build pathways to success and professional satisfaction.
 
The Clinical Scholars program has used the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IDP. Since it was designed for use by postdoctoral fellows in the sciences, it does not address all of the topics and competencies of interest to Clinical Scholars. To address this shortcoming the Clinical Scholars program leadership has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute by participating in a cluster-randomized study they are leading comparing the AAAS IDP to the KL2
 
Customized Career Development Platform (CCDP) they have developed to assist Scholars in developing their careers. Unlike the AAAS IDP, which is a single questionnaire, the CDDP is an online platform that enables trainees to document competency-based goals, objectives, and milestones related to research and career progress. This allows the scholars to map out their career plans, generate timelines and Gantt charts, and communicate effectively with their mentoring teams to ultimately achieve their goals.
 
Trainees, mentors, and program administrators have access to the interactive CCDP, thus serving as an efficient communication tool. Thus, the online format makes the CDDP a dynamic tool, enabling real-time accessibility for the Clinical Scholar to modify the CCDP as plans change. Scholars are currently enrolling in the CDDP and we look forward to their feedback and their mentors’ feedback on using this exciting new educational tool.