3366 Communication in Science: a summer workshop program at Mount Sinai

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: In an effort the increase awareness and enhance knowledge and skills in relation to communication in science at Mount Sinai, the Communication in Science summer workshop series aimed to provide an accessible, workforce-wide lecture series to promote key concepts and skills related to communicating science. Delivered by faculty and invited speakers, a series of seven workshops delivered over a 4 week period covered topics such as communication in teams, storytelling and TED talk principles, and community engagement. The aim of each session was to offer “top tips” that participants could apply to their practice. Evaluation of the workshop series aimed to determine participant satisfaction and self-perceived changes in knowledge and skills in relation to science communication. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A total of 375 participants registered to attend the workshop series from a range of backgrounds including post-docs, faculty, residents, staff and students at Mount Sinai. Attendance at the workshops ranged from a high of 119 and a low of 33 participants, with as many as 41% of attendees joining the session via live-streaming. Participants were emailed an online survey at the end of the workshop series, asking for satisfaction feedback on each individual workshop and an overall impression of the workshop series. Participants were asked to rate the satisfaction criteria related to content, gained knowledge and skills, presentation style and whether they found the session of value for each workshop, using a Likert scale from 1 - 5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Participants were also asked to provide an overall rating for the summer workshop series as a whole. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A total of 35 participants responded to the survey. Mean responses to the survey questions were:. The content of this session is important to my work = 4.09 (range 3.77 – 4.45). This session increased my knowledge or skills 4.03 (range 3.56- 4.62). The presenters delivered this content clearly = 4.16 (range 3.78 – 4.67). Overall I found this session valuable = 4.13 (3.78 – 4.61) Participants were also asked to provide an overall rating for the summer workshop series as a whole on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = poor, 10 = excellent). The mean response was 8.36, indicating a high level of satisfaction with the program. Qualitative feedback indicated that the sessions were successful in increasing awareness of this topic. One participant reported that “these sessions inspired me to think differently, and in a way that can potentially allow me to communicate with the non-science community”. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The high number of registrants for this summer workshop series indicates a perceived need for education and training on Communication in Science at Mount Sinai. Sessions that focused on TED talk principles and storytelling in science were particularly well attended and well-reviewed, suggesting a particular interested in these topics. There was, however, a discrepancy between registration and attendance numbers, which going forward we will seek to better understand. One explanation is that recording and posting the sessions on YouTube allowed participants to review content asynchronously at a time and location convenient to them, which may have deterred people from attending in person. Following the popularity of this program, future plans are underway to provide an ongoing program of learning in relation to Communication in Science.