Our Goal
Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has established an integrated Physician-Scientist Training Program (PSTP) for graduates of M.D.-Ph.D. programs and for recently graduated M.D.s who have had extensive experience in the conduct of research. The intent of this program is to provide an opportunity for interaction across clinical disciplines, facilitating the transition from training to productive careers in biomedical research. It includes the Departments of Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Radiation Oncology, Surgery and Urology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Successful applicants will exhibit a commitment to a career in academic medicine or surgery as a physician-scientist. Click here for a printer-friendly version of this page. PSTP Training at Northwestern University
The five-to-seven year Program, depending upon specialty, is designed to enhance the general training program with the opportunity for additional research-intensive training consistent with the needs of the individual and with the requirements of the specialty boards. At the completion of training, the PSTP Scholar will be prepared to pursue a career as both a physician-scientist and a board-certified specialist or subspecialist. While the organization of the program is department-specific, the basic structure will involve a graduated progression from general clinical activity to specialization, and from clinical work to research-related activities. Specific aspects of the clinical training program will vary according to requirements for Board eligibility in that specialty. In programs where a distinction is made between general training and subspecialty fellowship training, acceptance into the PSTP may include acceptance into both the general residency and the subspecialty fellowship training program of the Scholar’s choice. For surgical subspecialties, post-residency fellowship may be determined in PGY 4 or later.
Didactic Training and Seminars
Depending on the needs and interests of the Scholar, additional didactic training is available at Northwestern University. Scholars may participate in the programs of the Integrated Graduate Program in the Life Sciences, Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation, and Masters of Science in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. In addition to numerous other lectures and seminars available at Northwestern University, there are monthly seminars developed specifically for the PSTP Scholars, during which faculty members will discuss issues in biomedicine, their own work, or aspects of career development for academic physician-scientists. An annual meeting of PSTP participants is held to afford trainees the opportunity to share their research progress. PSTP Scholars also serve as role models and mentors to Northwestern MSTP students and participate in selected aspects of that program, including MSTP Grand Rounds, a combined clinical and research conference.
Guidance and Support
Each participant in the PSTP will receive guidance from two members of the faculty. A Career Mentor will be chosen during the first few months in the program to offer support and guidance during the development of the Scholar’s academic career. A Research Mentor will be chosen by the participant from among all faculty members at Northwestern University. The PSTP Scholar will receive appropriate guidance in these critical choices from the PSTP Steering Committee and from the faculty member who has overall responsibility for research within the Department of the participant’s program. Each Scholar will develop a mentoring committee consisting of the Research Mentor, the Career Mentor, and at least one other faculty member. The process of choosing mentors could begin as early as during the first recruiting visit to the program.
Eligibility
The Physician-Scientist Training Program is designed for individuals who are entering their graduate medical training with either a combined MD/PhD degree or an MD degree with a record of significant research accomplishment. It includes the Departments of Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Radiology Oncology, Surgery and Urology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Successful applicants will exhibit a commitment to a career in academic medicine or surgery as a physician-scientist.
Application Process
Applicants should apply to the Training Program of interest of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University through the Electronic Residency Application Service (). In addition to your application through ERAS, applicants should submit to their prospective department the provided on the web page for each participating department where applicable. Not all departments require a separate application for PSTP. If not already included in ERAS, applicants should also submit a letter of recommendation from their principal research mentor, one additional letter from an individual familiar with their research potential, and copies of all published research publications. Applicants will be invited to interview concurrently with interviews for the Residency Program of choice. Acceptance into the program will be via the NRMP and will be based on commitment to and potential for a career in academic medicine as a physician-scientist.
Financial Support
Supplemental financial support will vary among the individual departments, but generally includes support for computer, travel and other research or professional development-related expenses and will increase to support the efforts of the Scholar during research-intensive portions of the training.
Hospitals
Northwestern’s healthcare affiliates provide service to more than a million people in the greater Chicago area. Ties to the University are strong and pervasive, with most clinical departments among the affiliates comprised of university faculty or clinicians with university appointments. , completed in 1999, is one of the most technologically advanced health care facilities in the nation. The 900 medical staff physicians of Northwestern Memorial Hospital all have faculty appointments in the Medical School. Students also train at a number of other hospitals within the Northwestern network, including (ENH), ranked as the top independent research hospital in Illinois. A shuttle service provides transportation for Northwestern students, residents, and faculty between NMH and ENH. The , located adjacent to the Medical School, continues to provide outpatient training in several clinical specialties, while the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Main Campus on the near west side, provides inpatient training. A shuttle service provides transportation for Northwestern students, residents, and faculty between the Lakeside and Westside campuses and a new 200-bed inpatient facility will open at Westside in 2007. , located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago three miles north of the Medical School, will be relocated to the downtown campus. Groundbreaking is expected in 2008 and the new Children’s Hospital is scheduled to open in 2011. Finally, is adjacent to the medical school and is the site of approximately 10,000 births annually. The new Prentice Hospital with nearly 1 million square feet of space and a capacity for nearly 14,000 births per year opened in October 2007.
Further Information
Specialty-specific information on the application process, on the departmental training programs in Internal Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, Surgery, and Urology, and downloadable PSTP Application Forms, are available from the web pages for "Participating Departments".
For general information, please contact the PSTP Office at the address below.
Physician-Scientist Training Program
Ward Building, 12th Floor – Room 12-128
Northwestern University
303 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-3008
(312) 503-1180 email: pstp@northwestern.edu |
