Peer-Mentored Research Development Meeting: A Model for Successful Peer Mentoring among Junior Level Researchers

Objective: This report describes a model for the development, process, and tracking methods of a Peer-mentored Research Development Meeting (PRDM), an interdisciplinary peer mentoring program. The program was initiated in 2004 by a group of postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty from the Schools of the Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Method: From February 2004 through February 2006, PRDM's first five members tracked and documented their research activity (e.g., manuscripts, grants) every 4 months. The defining features of PRDM are adherence to a structured frequency and format for meetings, systematic tracking and evaluation of research development activities, and maintenance of ongoing relationships with senior mentors. Results: During the 24-month data collection period, members were involved in 91 research development projects including grant applications, journal article manuscripts, book chapters, and conference abstracts. Members' productivity increased during the 24-month period, as did the efficiency and focus of the completed projects. Conclusion: Members increased the efficiency and focus of their research development activities during the study period. Structured peer-mentoring groups have the potential to enhance research productivity among junior investigators in research intensive environments.