SC-20 - The Pharmacoepidemiologist's toolbox for professional development

1. Course Aim

The course will address on multiple professional development topics with each lecture providing the necessary tools for the attendees to apply the discussed principles to their own career paths. Faculty will give and introduction to professional empowerment along with five, 30-minute-long didactic lectures, with 25-minute panel discussion with course faculty to further discuss the importance of professional development. In total the course will consist of approximately 3.5 hours of instruction in real-time with 15 minutes of break included.

2. Requisites Statement

All audiences are welcome. It is suggested that all participants take the personality test (https://www.16personalities.com/) or (Free Big Five Personality Test - Accurate scores of your personality traits (truity.com) prior to the course.
**No payment required**

3. Course Objectives

1. Discuss how emotional agility enhances professional growth and resilience in fast-paced, evolving work environments.

2. Understand diverse team perspectives to enhance collaboration and teamwork.

3. Describe at least one new strategy for prioritizing and actioning a critical activity

4. To identify the top ten things that matter most to you in your life and career. To design approaches to align your personal and professional goals.

4. Syllabus Outline

This course will be moderated by Dr. Caitlin Knox, and the presentations will cover the topics below:
· Introduction to professional empowerment (20 minutes)
Dr. Caitlin Knox, FISPE (Senior Director, Pharmacoepidemiology Regeneron Pharmaceuticals)

· Importance of agility (35 minutes)
Dr. Juan Hincapie Castillo (Assistant Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
In today’s fast-paced and emotionally demanding work environments, the real differentiator isn’t avoiding stress—it's how we navigate it. Based on Susan David’s powerful framework from Emotional Agility, this talk explores how high-achieving professionals can learn to face their difficult thoughts and feelings—not with suppression or over-identification, but with curiosity, compassion, and courage. We will review why traditional “think positive” tactics fall short and how getting unhooked from unhelpful mental chatter can unlock better leadership, deeper focus, and more values-aligned action.
Reference: Susan David. Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life. Avery. 2016.

• Making teamwork work! (35 minutes)
Dr. Lisa Pont, FISPE (Deputy Head of School Graduate, School of Health, Professor at University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia)
In this session, we'll dive into understanding and appreciating the diverse perspectives within our teams. We'll also explore our own communication styles, consider strategies to understand and appreciate diverse perspectives within the team and learn how to adapt to different team dynamics. By the end of our time together, you'll have practical techniques to boost collaboration and create a more cohesive, productive work environment. Let's unlock the make teamwork work together!

BREAK 15 minutes

· Finding the time (35 minutes)
Dr. Mary Beth Ritchey (Associate Research Professor, Rutgers University)
We all want to make the most of the time we have dedicated toward our profession. There are books on getting things done and maximizing time. Though, inevitably, we will have periods that do not go as planned – whether we are overburdened for a season, hitting a wall of burnout, or inadvertently dropping the ball. This session will discuss mechanisms for researchers to prioritize and action critical efforts (including some unconventional strategies).

· Designing Your Career and Life as a Pharmacoepidemiologist (35 minutes)
Dr. Vin Lo Re, MD, MSCE, FISPE (Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Epidemiology, Director of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science, Rutgers University)
This session offers a distillation of what it means to design a career and life that is meaningful to you, purposeful, and intentional. We will discuss: 1) the life course of a professional career, 2) how to identify what matters most to you, 3) how to design approaches to align your personal and professional goals, and 4) how to navigate and embrace change. The overall goal is for you to design a more fulfilling, meaningful life and career around the things that matter most to you.

· Panel Discussion/ Q&A with course faculty (25 minutes)