Recruiting and Retaining Future Generations of Physician Scientists in Mental Health

The authors discuss 6 challenges facing the recruitment and retention of physician scientists as career mental health researchers. These challenges include (1) early identification and recruitment at the undergraduate and medical student level; (2) recruitment of a more diverse group of trainees; (3) safety nets for reducing attrition; (4) strategies to promote successful competition for K awards; (5) definition of appropriate roles and career development opportunities in multisite clinical trials; and (6) strategies for the mentoring cost. A coalition of stake-holders--federal, academic, foundational, and in the pharmaceutical industry-- is needed to meet these challenges.