Meeting the Nation's Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists (1994) / Chapter Skim
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3 BASIC BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES PERSONNEL
3 BASIC BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES PERSONNEL
Pages 23-36
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From page 23... ...
Like previous NRC committees formed to address the future direction of the NRSA program, we have considered the appropriate level and mix of predoctoral and postdoctoral support in the basic biomedical sciences given advances in basic research and changing employment patterns for scientists in component fields (see Appendix B for a field taxonomy)
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The committee considered these issues and concluded that high priority must be given to restoring appropriate stipend support through the NRSA program even at He expense of overall growth in the total number of awards in the basic biomedical sciences over the next few years. Thus, our recommendations for the future direction of the NRSA program reflect our deep conviction that the NRSA program must continue to play a significant role in the national biomedical research effort and that this will require prompt attention to issues of stipend size and flexibility.
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See Appendix Table F-3. 1991 work force were younger than 40, compared with roughly 38 per cent of the men.3 The biomedical sciences work force has also become more racially diverse over the years, but progress has been slow.
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26 · U.S. Citizen 100 95 ~ 90 ,~ 85 80 75 - t 1 1 ~1 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 FIGURE 3-4 Citizenship status of employed biomedical science Ph.D.s, 1981-1991.
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1981 and 1985 and was followed by a relatively stronger upward trend between 1987 and 1992. The annual number of degrees produced in the biomedical sciences rose by 10 percent over the entire period, from about 3,400 to almost 3,800 (Figure 3-64.
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This change may ultimately be reflected in He citizenship characteristics of He biomedical work force.6 loo T 95T 90 85 ~ 80- . ' 75 70 65 60 55 50 - _ 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 FIGURE 3-8 Fraction of biomedical science Ph.D.
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0.4 0.2 O - i i I ~I i 1 1 1 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 · Biomedical Sciences ~ Physical Sciences FIGURE 3-10 Underemployment rates of biomedical and physical sciences Ph.D.s, 1973-1991. See Appendix Table F-9.
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This suggests that relative demand has been growing more slowly in the biomedical sciences than in other fields of science or engineering combined.9 OUTLOOK FOR BASIC BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS The labor market for biomedical scientists defines one dimension of need. Job openings are generated by deaths, retirements, and other types of separation from the biomedical work force.
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Except for the zero growth scenario, they also reflect the growth of the biomedical science work force.1l For comparison purposes, Table 3-4 shows the number of new biomedical Ph.D.s entering the biomedical work force through 1990, estimated from We longitudinal SDR.12 These numbers represent a substantial fraction of the degree production that occurred in these fields, although it does not reflect the employment outcomes of new graduates who may have found employment in other fields or delayed entry into the work force. An estimated 82 percent of the biomedical Ph.D.s entered the biomedical work force TABLE 3-4 Estimated Number of New Biomedical Science Ph.D.s Entering the Biomedical Science Work Force in Selected Years.
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program shows promise as a reliable source of NRSA trainees. THE NRSA PROGRAM IN THE BASIC BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES Earlier committees' assessment of the need for basic biomedical scientists and the level of Raining Hat should be provided by the federal government under the NRSA programs depended heavily on its analysis of the academic labor market, because that was the dominant sector both in terms of the number of bioscientists employed and the amount of federally sponsored research performed.
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. Predoctoral Training On the basis of its review of available information describing current and anticipated market conditions and in consideration of pressing national research needs, the committee strongly endorses the continuation of predoctoral NRSA training programs in the basic biomedical sciences.
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34 RECOMMENDATION: The committee recommends that the number of postdoctoral trainees and fellows supported annually in the basic biomedical sciences be maintained at 1993 levels or 3,835 each year. Minority Access to Research Careers Current federal efforts to attract minority group members to careers in the basic biomedical sciences include undergraduate support through He MARC program.
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5. The Doctorate Records File is a compilation of responses to the Survey of Earned Doctorates, which has been conducted each year since 1958 by the NRC's Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel and its predecessor organizations.
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See Appendix A of this report for a brief summary of the career outcomes studies of NRSA postdoctoral appointees. Nonetheless, the expansion of postdoctoral appointments in the basic biomedical sciences has been identified by some researchers as an indicator of job shortages in some component fields (Coggeshall, et al., 1978; NRC, 1981)
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