About Boot Camp:
A major NIDUS priority is providing mentorship and career development opportunities. As a result, we seek trainees, junior faculty, and mid-career researchers who are new to the delirium field. These opportunities include a virtual mentorship program, mentoring webinars, and other training opportunities throughout the year.
We use the annual NIDUS Delirium Boot Camp to mentor early-career researchers in an intensive setting. The over-arching goal of the Boot Camp is developing a multidisciplinary pipeline of well-trained translational, epidemiologic, and clinical delirium researchers. Boot Camp is an international affair - we've had the privilege to welcome participants from Canada, Australia, the European Union and South America. Currently, there are over 110 Delirium Boot Camp alumni. Boot Camp offers attendees:
- NIH-style mock grant reviews of all submitted mentee proposals
- in-depth training on use of the CAM
- a number of breakout sessions
- multiple didactic sessions covering various topics relevant to delirium research (clinical & translational)
- networking sessions on multiple career-development topics
Boot Camp Eligibility:
The NIDUS Boot Camp is designed for faculty and research fellows with previous research training and experience who plan to continue researching delirium. It is open to researchers from a variety of backgrounds, professions and research areas. However, there are a limited number of spots available each year and the application process is very selective. The following criteria determine eligibility:
- Previous training in the fundamentals of clinical research
- Previous research experience (minimum 1-2 years)
- MD, PhD or other doctoral level degree (strong advanced predoctoral candidates in this area considered)
- Interest and passion for delirium research
- Must have 50% protected time for research
- Once accepted, a willingness to devote 8-10 hours of advance preparation time for the Boot Camp (beyond application and proposal preparation)
History of NIDUS Boot Camp & Organizing Committee:
Co-chaired by Jan Busby-Whitehead, MD and John Devlin, PharmD, an Organizing Committee plans the NIDUS Boot Camp. You can find a full list of Organizing Committee members here.
Boot Camp was founded in 2013 through a career development award to Dr. Sharon K. Inouye. With this grant, she established the Center for Excellence for Delirium in Aging: Research, Training and Educational Enhancement (CEDARTREE).
From 2016 to 2020, the Delirium Boot Camp was funded by an NIA Network Grant (R24AG054259, PI Inouye), under leadership of Donna M. Fick, PhD, MSN, and E. Wes Ely, MD, MPH.
The NIA has funded the 2021-2025 Delirium Boot Camps (R13185760). The current Boot Camp leaders are Jan Busby-Whitehead, MD, MPH and John W. Devlin, PharmD.