Association Of Women Surgeons VA Chapter

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Association Of Women SurgeonsVA Chapter
Making it Look Good on Paper

• Marybeth S. Hughes, M.D.
• Senior Investigator
• Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, NIH

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Making It Look Good on Paper

• Cover Letters
• Curriculum vitae (CVs)
• Format
• Content
• Advice
• Grants

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Cover Letters Definition

• A cover letter is a personal introduction.
• It can also be a marketing device.
• Target audience can vary
• Employer
• Tenure Committee
• Grant applications

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Cover Letters

• Necessary
• Think of the reader

• Often impacts on position, promotion, tenure or
  grant approval
• Opportunity to communicate

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Cover Letters

• Form
• One page
• Three paragraphs
• Introduction
• Body
• Closing

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Cover Letters

• Pay attention to basic details
• Spell all names, titles and addresses correctly
• Contact Information
• Avoid grammatical and spelling errors
• Paper

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Cover Letters

• Avoid Generalities
• Example
• I would like to express my interest in the
  position that is currently available at your
  practice
• Briefly Address Any Time Gaps in Training or
  Practice
• Highlight Special Expertise
• Involve new techniques or technology

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Cover Letters

• Brevity
• Passion
• Personalization
• Indicate some knowledge of position
• Area
• Avoid To Whom It May Concern

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• Remember poorly written letters give a negative
  first impression

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Curriculum Vitae

• Format
• Clear
• Concise
• Correct
• Well Organized

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Curriculum Vitae

• Use simple font
• Emphasize headings
• Bold or Underline
• Do not use too many bullets, dashes
• Number publications (if many)
• Highlight authorship
• Bold or Underline

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Curriculum Vitae Content

• Name and Title
• Address
• Contact

Professional
Home
telephone
fax
email
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Example
Marybeth Scavone Hughes, M.D. Surgery Branch,
National Cancer Institute National Institutes of
Health 10 Center Drive, Bldg 10, Room 3W-3940,
MSC 1201 Bethesda, MD, 20895-1201 Office (301)
594-9341 Pager (800) NIH-BEEP-11863 Fax (301)
402-1788 E-mail Marybeth_Hughes_at_nih.gov Home
address 9851 Marcliff Court Vienna, VA
22181 Home [phone]

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Curriculum Vitae Content

• Personal Data (Optional)
• D.O.B.
• Marital Status
• Children
• Birth place or Citizenship
• Cellular phone number

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Curriculum Vitae Content

• Professional Appointments
• Post Graduate Medical Education
• Higher Education
• Include location and dates
• Certifications and Licensure
• Board certification, BLS, ACLS, ATLS, State
  licenses, NBME

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Curriculum Vitae Content

• Committee Appointments
• IRB, Credentialing Committee, Review Boards
• Honors/ Awards
• Alpha Omega Alpha, Teaching Awards, Research
  Awards
• Society Memberships
• FACS, local, state and national involvement

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Curriculum Vitae Content

• Academic Presentations
• paper competitions, posters, paper
  presentations, abstracts
• Invited Lectures
• local, state or national organizations
• Published Peer Reviewed Articles
• Authorship order
• Books and Book Chapters

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CV Specialized Content

• Mentorship
• Basic Science Research
• Grant support past, present and pending

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Recommendations

• UPDATE CVs OFTEN!!
• Avoid listing your DEA number
• Avoid listing your social security number
• Look at many example CVs
• Content
• Structure
• Get assistance for cover letters and grant
  proposals as needed

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Avoid Hyperbole
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Grants

• Failure is the beginning of wisdom
• -William Zinnser
• Sources
• NIH
• Federal Sources
• Industry
• All other- private foundation

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Why Grants Fail

• Experimental Design
• Research problem
• Investigator
• Resources

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Experimental Design

• Technical methodology
• Data collection procedures
• Study group or control
• Data analysis and management is vague

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Research Problem

• Hypothesis is ill defined
• Proposal is unimportant, unimaginative

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Investigator

• Principal Investigator had inadequate expertise
• Inadequate mastery of literature in the research
  area
• Poor productivity on an NIH grant
• Insufficient time devoted to the project

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Resources

• Inadequate institutional setting
• Lack of equipment, facilities, personnel
• Restricted access to appropriate patients
• Insufficient collaborative effort

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Recommendations

• Request a copy of the NIH Data Book
• NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
• Call the funding agency for high priority
• topic
• Be realistic with budgets
• Consult a biostatistician

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Recommendations

• Why clinical research grant applications fare
  poorly in review and how to recover
• Cancer Investigation 1987 5(1)55-58

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Advice

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The End

• Questions????