CDI Program Overview
The Research Career Development Institute (CDI) for Psychiatry is a multi-faceted longitudinal training experience for young psychiatrists and PhD researchers interested in successful research careers in academic psychiatry. The CDI for Psychiatry includes a comprehensive program of career and skills self-assessment, individualized career goal setting, a four-day workshop, structured long-distance career mentoring and goal tracking, webinars (online meetings) and tutorials, and a multi-tiered program evaluation.
The program is geared toward individuals at the critical transition point between the completion of research training and initial faculty appointment or very early in the initial appointment. Participants in the program have a unique opportunity to work with a diverse group of senior faculty and mentors from the Departments of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh and Stanford University, representatives from the National Institute of Mental Health, and past CDI participants.
CDI Program Format
A four-day interactive workshop will be held April 22–26, 2017, in Palo Alto, Calif., to jump-start the longitudinal training experience. If accepted into the program, participants will be required to complete a series of exercises online prior to attendance at the workshop as well as participate in bi-monthly online mentoring and webinars for 18 months after the workshop, for a total of a 24-month commitment from January 2017 through December 2018. For an example of how this works, you can review a sample workshop schedule (PDF) and a list of activities across the 24-month program.