A good scientific culture is the foundation of high-quality research and of the motivation of the next generation to engage in a career in academic medicine. The SAMS is committed to fostering a good scientific culture and to improving the situation of early career scientists in biomedical and clinical research.
In its position paper published in 2016, the SAMS proposed concrete measures to improve both the scientific culture and the perspectives of early career researchers in academic medicine.
Around the same time, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) published the «Roadmap for developing the next generation of clinical researchers». This more practical document complements the SAMS position paper and formulates concrete goals, work packages and responsibilities.
FOPH-Roadmap for developing the next generation of clinical researchers (2016)
In order to support actors in the implementation of the measures in practice, the Association Swiss University Medicine (unimedsuisse) and the SAMS set up a working group in 2017. It compiled a catalogue of the existing support instruments and education offer and clarified the needs of early career clinical researchers. The results were published in 2019 (available in German and French).
Web portal for early career clinical researchers
One of the concrete outputs of the recommendations from 2019 is the creation of the web portal Clinical Research Careers which provides a direct access to the support and education offer across Switzerland for starters in clinical research. The web portal, realized together with the Swiss Clinical Trial Organisation (SCTO, project leader), unimedsuisse and the SAMS was launched in September 2021.
Web portal Clinical Research Careers
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Funding program: Young Talents in Clinical Research
To encourage assistant medical doctors to take their first steps in clinical research, the SAMS has set up the funding program «Young Talents in Clinical Research» in 2017, in collaboration with the Gottfried and Julia Bangerter-Rhyner Foundation. Thereby implementing the work package of the FOPH Roadmap attributed to the SAMS (see above). The program funds protected research time and small research projects.
Funding program: Young Talents in Clinical Research
Related topics and activities
Background
The ongoing work and programs described here follow on previous publications, specifically the SAMS position paper «Medicine as a science», the report by the thematic group «Young people for clinical research in Switzerland» and the «Recommendations for gender-appropriate academic career pathways», published by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (some downloads are only available in German).
- Position paper: Medicine as a science (2009) PDF, 250 KB
- Bericht der Themengruppe «Nachwuchs für die Klinische Forschung in der Schweiz» (2014) PDF, 453 KB
- Einschätzung der Karrieresituation von Nachwuchswissenschaftlerinnen in der Schweiz mit Empfehlungen für gendergerechte adkademische Karrierewege (2016) PDF, 1 MB