In 2012, a working group of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the NIH issued a report looking at the current state of the biomedical workforce and the current training model. The working group formulated a series of recommendations aimed at addressing areas in need of improvement. One of the recommendations was a call for all NIH-funded graduate students and postdocs to develop and utilize Individual Development Plans (IDPs).
An IDP is a written plan for goals and actions for the next year. Like a personal strategic plan, an IDP helps early-career researchers set long- and short-term goals and establish an action plan for achieving these goals. Studies have shown that by writing down the plan and revisiting it annually, trainees are more likely to accomplish those goals and tend to have greater success and satisfaction. Completing an IDP can also foster communication and feedback between trainees and mentors, as well as assist trainees in carving out time for career exploration, professional development and work-life balance.
Building on earlier work by FASEB, Science Careers, FASEB, AAAS, and several other organizations came together and created a free online career planning tool specifically for graduate students and postdocs: ‘myIDP’. Trainees go through four steps 1) self-evaluation of skills, values, and interests, 2) exploring and evaluating career opportunities and identifying career options, 3) setting career development goals & 4) implementing a plan of action in myIDP. myIDP also allows users to share their IDP or portions of their IDP with their mentors.
Access myIDP here. please go to: http://myidp.sciencecareers.org . To learn more about myIDP please read “You Need a Game Plan,” which is the first in a series of articles regarding myIDP that is published in Science Careers.