Establishing a Trainee Section in the CIM
Authors: Dugani Sagar , Ong Tone Stephan 
Published: May 2017

The Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada – Association des cliniciens-chercheurs en formation du Canada (CITAC-ACCFC) is a national organization composed of MD+ trainees enrolled in MD/MSc, MD/PhD, and Clinician Investigator Programs (CIP) across Canada. In less than three years since its conception, CITAC-ACCFC has become an established organization with over 200 members from fifteen academic institutions. The mission of the CITAC-ACCFC is to organize and promote activities that support clinician investigator trainees in Canada, with the intention to improve academic and post-graduate career opportunities, expand institutional and public awareness of clinician investigator programs, and develop a nationally accessible information database of student and program development. The CITAC-ACCFC aims to improve the early-career conditions of clinician investigators in order to expand and advance innovative research initiatives within Canada. Throughout its development, CITAC-ACCFC has relied on the Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation (CSCI) for mentorship and guidance. In an exciting development, the relationship between CITAC-ACCFC and CSCI has enabled an innovative opportunity for early career development through a new collaboration- the creation of a Trainee Section in the Clinical and Investigative Medicine (CIM) journal.

As a forum through which work on diverse topics can be shared with the global community, the CIM Trainee Section will create unique opportunities for professional development. Trainees in MD+ programs represent the next generation of clinical-investigators, who will integrate cutting edge research and compassionate patient care throughout their careers. Both professions require excellent communication skills, and through the Trainee Section, MD+ trainees, their supervisors, and MD+ Program Directors, will be able to focus on mentorship, academic training, financial planning, and career development, among other topics devoted to MD+ trainees. In addition to articles highlighting the research activities of trainees, the Trainee Section will feature clinical work, review articles, first chapter of theses, book reviews, and opinion pieces. This focus of the Trainee Section will complement CIM’s current focus on original research and issues of interest to the CSCI. It is therefore fitting to establish a Trainee Section that is dedicated to addressing issues arising at an earlier stage of training. As MD+ organizations are being established globally, the Trainee Section will strive to become an international forum that focuses on MD+ training. By increasing the international readership of CIM through the CITAC website, we will aim to engage MD+ trainees, program directors, university administration, and other leaders in education, to advocate for issues of national and global relevance.

As trainees will be responsible for overseeing the editorial and peer-review process of the Trainee Section, we anticipate that this will provide an avenue by which to foster stronger interactions and collaborations among trainees on our Editorial Board, junior investigators, and senior faculty, while providing critical editorial experience for board members. Our team of Editors will ensure that articles are reviewed in a fair and timely manner, respecting the need to promptly publish articles of immediate relevance. We encourage all MD+ trainees to participate in the Trainee Section editorial and/or peer-review process. Additional details can be found on our website at:

http://www.citac-accfc.org/portal/

As MD+ trainees, we are optimistic about the future of both basic science and clinical research. This is an exciting time to be an MD+ trainee, and we are confident that the creation of a Trainee Section will only augment this positive experience. We strongly encourage you to publish your work in the Trainee Section and become part of an emerging global community of MD+ trainees, who are keen on tackling health issues that affect us irrespective of our geographic, cultural, or racial borders.

We look forward to receiving your articles.