The Israel society for biological psychiatry’s clinician-scientist greenhouse: Assessment of subjective and objective outcomes

Introduction: Though a career as a clinician-scientist is rewarding, few psychiatrists in Israel pursue this career choice. The aim of this study was to assess subjective and objective outcomes of the first cohort of Israel Society for Biological Psychiatry’s unique “Clinician-Scientist Gr eenhouse” program, geared towards promoting research among early-career psychiatrists. Methods: Prior to initiation and after completion of the two-year program each participant completed a 23-item questionnaire. A mean score (on a 1-10 Likert scale) was calculated for each item and means of items in each of the five domains (career as a clinician-scientist, submitting a research proposal, conducting research, knowledge in biological psychiatry and the Clinician-Scientist Greenhouse) constructed the mean score for that domain. Pre-post program scores were compared using paired t-tests. Results: Out of 27 individuals beginning the program, 22 completed it, and 20 post-program questionnaires were filled. Significant improvements were found in subjective reports of competence in submitting a research proposal (4.1±1.92 to 6.9±1.67 [p<0.001]), conducting research (4.6±2.15 to 6.7±2.02 [p=0.001]) and knowledge in biological psychiatry (4.9±2.11 to 6.7±1.61 [p=0.003]). Six months following completion of the program, 60% of graduates reported submission of at least one original paper to a peerreviewed journal and 65% of submissions have already been accepted for publication. Conclusions: Professional societies are a natural arena for promoting young psychiatrists’ career development as clinician-scientists. The Israel Society for Biological Psychiatry's Clinician-Scientist Greenhouse appears to be effective in improving competence in conducting and disseminating psychiatric research among early-career psychiatrists in Israel.