Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses durch medizinische Fachgesellschaften - Umfrage unter den Mitgliedsgesellschaften der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften e.V. (AWMF)

Introduction A decreasing number of young physicians go for an academic career. The most frequently cited reasons are deficient structures and a lack of perspectives. The German Research Foundation warned against supply gaps in the medical sciences and in 2010 published recommendations for the improvement of professional development at all levels of medical education. A systematic survey of existing support tools and their dissemination among the medical societies has not yet been conducted. Method Network members of the AWMF were contacted by e-mail and asked to answer 59 questions regarding the support of junior scientists in their respective societies. Results 28 out of 147 societies replied to the questionnaire. Most of the societies offer at least one of the following tools (multiple responses; selective topics): award for oral presentations (n = 27), free attendance at conferences (n = 15), financial research funding (n = 19), assessment of any funding application (n = 10), mentoring (n = 6), support of students working on their doctoral thesis (n = 26), support of studies abroad (n = 16), training course on statistics/ laboratory methods (n = 17), support with clinical studies (n = 22). Discussion Here, we present our survey findings on established support tools for junior scientists for the first time. Apart from the medical schools, several medical-scientific societies have also started to provide tools of support for their junior scientists. However, to ensure that long-term perspectives and attractive conditions are provided in the field of medical science for junior scientists, broader support and interdisciplinary exchange of established tools are needed.