Entering the workforce requires more than just the technical skills learned as a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. NYU Grossman School of Medicine offers you courses and workshops to develop universal job skills, including communication, professionalism, leadership, and creativity. Not all courses and workshops are offered each semester.

Communication Skills

Communicating scientific ideas concisely and precisely is not only limited to peer-reviewed papers. Media outlets often seek scientists who can explain complex subjects to the public. Most graduates in the sciences typically learn only technical writing and grant writing skills, and so our program expands training to include skills such as writing op-eds or articles for mainstream publication, public speaking, storytelling, and more.

Confident Communicators of Science Workshop

Communicating effectively and delivering engaging presentations are essential skills for scientists working at the forefront of innovation, yet in today’s increasingly dynamic world, holding an audience’s attention requires more skill than ever.

Actors find ways to engage audiences large and small in compelling stories, night after night. They do so by making the audience their sole focus. This 8-day, arts-based instructional workshop explores practical tools scientists can use to understand what an audience needs from them—whether it’s an audience of 1 or 1,000—so that their message can be heard.

Negotiating Skills Workshop

This interactive seminar covers the tools and skills needed to negotiate effectively, both personally and professionally. The workshop uses simulation and discussion to teach negotiation techniques and lets participants practice with each other.

Professionalism

Handling emotions and interpersonal relationships at work can be challenging. Scientists often face failure and rejection, and the pressure to produce results and advances in your field can be intense. We hold frequent workshops to support postdocs’ professionalism in a range of settings.

Scientific Integrity and Responsible Conduct in Research Course

In addition to attending compliance training, postdocs must take our Scientific Integrity and Responsible Conduct in Research course, which is offered once a year. The course aims to familiarize predoctoral trainees, including MD/PhD candidates, and postdoctoral fellows with the ethical issues confronting biomedical scientists.

The course addresses ethical considerations surrounding the use of human and animal subjects, scientific integrity in data management, analysis, authorship, and publication. Additional topics include peer review, scientific fraud, conflict of interest, mentoring, intellectual property, collaborations (including with industry), and the role of scientists in society.

The course includes readings, lectures, and films, combined with discussion. Each student is assigned to a discussion section and must attend all nine sessions. Trainees in certain programs are required to retake the course every four years. The course is designed to meet or exceed all National Institutes of Health requirements for instruction in the responsible conduct of research.

NYU Health Sciences Library

The NYU Health Sciences Library is a vital resource for researchers and gives NYU Grossman School of Medicine postdocs access to data-management courses and consultations. The library can guide scholars in best practices and new regulations in data sharing, a growing trend that has been endorsed by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Open Government Initiative, and leading peer-reviewed journals such as Science and Nature.

Good data management practices enhance a researcher’s productivity, ability to secure grants, and overall credibility. As part of the postdoctoral program’s Scientists Training as Academic Researchers: Lab Management Series, the NYU Health Sciences Library offers an introductory data management class covering current regulations, data documentation, file-naming conventions, security, and storage.

Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Workshop

The Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a questionnaire designed to categorize a person’s decision-making style, allows you to better understand yourself and others.

Our popular MBTI workshop introduces important concepts, such as problem-solving models, interacting with differing personality types, and working in diverse groups.

Conflict Management Workshop

An ability to deal with conflict is a critical skill in any field. Our three-session Conflict Management Workshop teaches you how conflict can be positive if managed properly. The workshop can also prepare you to better cope with stress.

You complete an assessment of individual conflict styles using the Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. We then go over assessment results, use case studies, and role play. These exercises can help you develop more effective conflict management styles, become more collaborative, and understand what styles work best in various situations.

Developing High-Performing Teams Workshop

This workshop can help you and your postdoc colleagues maximize your professional effectiveness. Topics include defining high-performing teams and the life cycle of a team.

Managing Emotions at Work Workshop

This personal leadership workshop focuses on how to recognize situations in which emotions may get the best of you, how to handle such situations effectively, and how to maintain emotional balance and professionalism in order to be a productive scientist.