Did you see the medical students with their green name plates on their white coats and expectant but uncertain gazes, swarming around the various departments January 13th and 14th?

THANK YOU for taking such good care of them! I have had the pleasure of reading their reports, which confirm that they were well taken care of by the entire chain of healthcare professionals that they met: the porter who showed them the right way through the tunnel, the biomedical laboratory scientist who patiently explained that this particular instrument measured hemoglobin, the nurse who looked after the student who nearly fainted in the examination room and all the doctors who explained why they said and did everything during an entire workday.

Getting this first insight into a day at a hospital, observing lots of good interaction and seeing that we all have our place in the diagnostic and treatment chain have given them an important insight into the life of a doctor. Observation of the doctor-patient meetings without the requirement of direct academic learning provides an opportunity for good role models; this is building professionalism!

Getting their noses out of the books and into the staff and patient rooms has aroused motivation; they see that also basic knowledge is necessary to understand complex medical conditions.

The fact that the same students will be back at your department, brings confidence for both them and us. It also provides an opportunity for the individual student’s local supervisor to follow her / him over time. In that situation it will also be easier to see if a student struggles, either with acquiring academic knowledge or with personal problems.

The students describe a wide range of pleasant workplaces that take good care of the workers, which is primarily a benefit for us who work there every day. Let us continue to be attentive to each other also when we are not showing our “best side” with a student in tow.

Jone

In the K2 editorial last week Roland informed that he will leave the position as vice chair for research at the institute. He has had the position since K2 was established three years ago. Roland has done a great job to promote research within the institute. He has also done a significant effort to put focus on working groups with relevance for PhD training and also on supervisor training, both nationally and at an international level. Roland has also contributed significantly to the integration of the various parts of the four old institutes into one. Well done Roland!

The new vice chair for research is Helge Ræder. He is a professor within Pål’s research group, and holds a BFS grant. I am sure that he will follow up the good work started by Roland to promote research at K2.

Per

At this time of the year the departments are preparing for their reports to the faculty – and I then particularly think about the PhD training and research reports. These are important documents that the faculty uses to inform and update the University centrally on their performance and long-term strategies. These reports therefore contribute to communicate the departments’ thoughts, desires and needs to UiB. Is there anything new to report or is this just the same litany as last year? Yes, there are actually new elements that have been added. For instance, what has the department accomplished when it comes to internationalization, career planning and publication? Although publications are always metioned, it will now be put more in focus. It will be especially important for Department of Clinical Science to focus on publishing, since we have had a decrease in the number of publications since 2013. But we’ve had a very good progress on external funding – not least the EU and NFR – which hopefully will result in increased publishing further on.

This is my last editor of “K2Nytt” since I after a 3-year appointment as Research Director / Deputy Head of Research at Department of Clinical Science is going to focus on other tasks. I will therefore take this opportunity to thank you all for three rewarding and exciting years – for good cooperation within the management team, the Research Committee, with the PhD coordinator and everyone I have been in contact with. Besides my responsibility as head of Broegelmann Research Laboratory and the research group for immunology and rheumatology, I have also been involved in several inspiring and stimulating working groups with direct relevance for PhD training and research. As I have previously mentioned in my editorials, I have participated in the OU-7 report on PhD training at UiB, the report on supervisor training at UiB (delivered to the university administration before Christmas), and I have also taken part of the UHR appointed national career group, and not least the ongoing international work carried out within ORPHEUS. So I will have enough to do also in the future.

Thank you,

Roland

I hope you have had a pleasant rest during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The previous editorial mentioned that it is time for a new strategy plan for K2. The last two days the chairs of the research groups, the institute council, as well as representatives for various groups at the institute have been assembled to discuss a new strategy for K2. The new plan has to take into account the overall strategy documents of the university and the faculty, and also that of the university hospital.

The goals of the new strategy plan should be specific, measureable, ambitious, realistic and achievable within a given time. We will try to make a one page plan so that it is easy to understand and will be taken into account. When the draft of the plan is ready it will be presented in K2Nytt for comments from you. The final version will be approved by the Institute council.

Per

In this last editorial of the year it is time to look back at the K2 activities in 2015. With regards to education the main focus has been on the new curriculum in medicine. Although much work remains, the planning is well underway. Digital tools in teaching and examinations are coming. Although the vision of new, fully funded study places in pharmacy has not yet been realized, the Center for Pharmacy has made a great effort of raising the parliamentarians’ awareness of this issue. A new course in galenic pharmacy has been started.

The research activity and the outcome of grant applications have been very good. K2 researchers obtained seven new NFR projects this year, including a part in an infrastructure application that is coordinated from Oslo. K2 received about 60% of the new multi-year grants from Samarbeidsorganet as well as four new EU projects. The total funding received in various applications by K2 employees, will amount to approximately 93 million NOK which is 7 million more than we received from the government. There is however still a large potential for improved external funding.

The technical staff at the department makes important contributions to the successful research. I wish to give credit to Ersilia Bifulco, Jenny Zhang and Tove Folkestad who have reestablished the Forum for Technicians.

HSE is important to all of us. All the staff at K2 has received, or will be offered appraisal interviews annually.

A very tight department economy has left its mark on the activities this year. Although several research groups have received large grants, there are also groups that have not obtained external funding, and the department has had little to offer. I am grateful that people have shown understanding for the limitations linked to the tight budgets. On the bright side, the debt K2 gained by the reorganization of the faculty is now nearly liquidated. This means that in the coming years, there will be some money to promote the K2 activities.

Keywords for next year are the new curriculum in medicine, Ferdighetssenteret, The research unit for health surveys, a new strategy for K2, a structured process for grant applications, and the Forum for Technicians.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for a great effort in 2015, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Per

This week the institute arranged lunch for the Emeritus Society. The society consists of professors emeriti from K2. The emeriti make a very important contribution to the department in several fields, and are well worth a lunch.They manage most defenses at K2 as custos and are part of several committees that consider applicants for vacancies and applications for endowments. Several of them are still teaching, and last but not least, several of them still publish with K2 affiliation. All of this is free of charge for the Department!

The only thing they get in return is free access to university computer services, library services and E-mail lists. In addition they receive K2Nytt. The Emeritus Society is open to anyone who goes into retirement from a scientific position at K2. Membership is renewed annually.

We have good reason to thank the emeriti for the effort they make for K2!

Per

Most of us associate HMS with just that; health, environment and safety. If you look up the Norwegian abbreviation HMS in korrekturavdelingen.no, it is synonymous with health, environment and safety – that makes it easy for people who have Norwegian as their mother tongue to understand. A similar search in English will result in over 100 definitions of HMS. One of the more well-known is the Harvard Medical School. One may first think of Her Majesty’s Ship or be inspired by 007 Her Majesty’s Service, or the more unfamiliar might be the Hybrid Male Sterility and Happy Mask Salesman…

Where am I heading with this commentary? K2 is becoming more and more international, and the department has a significant number of foreign staff and students – therefore how we communicate is of the utmost importance.

This years HMS seminar was (unlike the previous meetings) held in English, which was very well received. Communication was a main theme in the group work. In the plenary session, Silke Appel had a proposal that all Ph.D. defences should be held in English. Rebecca Cox called for proper translation of K2Nytt into English – she occasionally had to consult the Norwegian translation to understand the English… However, everybody agreed that K2Nytt is useful, and most employees read it. There were calls for an improved “layout” and easy access to earlier editions of the newsletter.

We also discussed meeting places within the department. Shared meeting places that were highlighted where the scientific K1 / K2 seminars and the K2 HMS seminar. These are good venues to meet departmental colleagues for an informal chat, but they sometimes have poor attendance. Serving wine was suggested as a possible incentive to attend – it apparently worked in Denmark. One of the more specific forums the “Faculty lunch” has been initiated. There is also a plan to resurrect the Technical Forum. The K2 management will summarize all comments from the HMS day and will focus on implementing many of the suggestions.

Two important issues were presented by the HMS department at UiB; the new portal for reporting of adverse events and a new tool for risk assessment. These topics could potentially be very dry, but they were elegantly and inspiringly presented by Johannesen, including a Kohoot quiz, and Bjørn Arild Petersen from the Geophysical Institute (link).

There was also time for good breaks, including Godt Brød for lunch, a grand piano performance and the journalist Linda Eide spoke unrestrictedly on the theme “Ekte begeistring er ingen spøk” (Genuine enthusiasm is no joke). All in all, the HMS day was very successful, including a fire alarm rehearsal, all superbly directed by Irene, Ingvild and Julie. Those of you that did not come missed out on a good day!

Finally, let this seminar be a reminder that we all have responsibility for our occupational health, safety and environment. I wish you all a good weekend.

Eystein

The results of the applications of Samarbeidsorganets research grants were published this week. Applications from researchers connected to K2 did very well. Of a total of 12 PhD scholarships 5 was granted to candidates with main supervisors from K2. Corresponding figures for postdoctoral fellowships were 6 and 2. Funds were granted to 23 new multi-year research projects. Of these 14 (60%) were granted to projects where the applicant is affiliated with K2. Also for the one-year projects K2 employees were well represented. There is every reason to congratulate!

For those who did not get anything from this year’s applications: Though it is immediately frustrating, just keep applying and do better next time. In this connection I will remind you that K2 will run a structured support for NRC applications this spring and also for the EU projects. Further information will follow.

This column will also encourage Samarbeidsorganet  to look critically at the way the applications are assessed. Although there has been a clear improvement from previous since the committees that consider the applications now are external to Helse-Vest, there is always room for improvement of the comittees research expertise, and the way the evaluation is organized.

Per

The term career is by many perceived as a value-laden concept, but for those who work in academia this is a reality. At present there are great demands to recruit the best talents and follow them up so well that they remain at the institution, in our case Department of Clinical Science. This applies to ensure that Norwegian institutions will be able to assert themselves in the international competition for talents and research funding. To make this work, leaders at all levels need to prioritize good recruitment and career policy. Recently a working group appointed by UHR delivered an inspirational document with proposals for a coherent framework for career policy at Norwegian higher education institutions. The report can be found here (in norwegian): http://www.uhr.no/documents/230615KarrieredokumentetUHR.pdf

In the inspiration note Better Career Policies for academic staff in the higher education sector (UHR June 2015), that the report has been called, the working group proposes to systematise career and HR policy into four phases in a scientific career:

• Phase 1. Those who are in a doctoral program (PhD)
• Phase 2. Employees in qualification level (postdocs, researchers etc.)
• Phase 3. Permanent employees in combined positions (Associate professor, professor, etc.)
• Phase 4. Internationally leading professors

Career Politics is of course about the whole career path, from PhD to internationally leading professors. We should embark on and continue to work with this. The best time to bring this up is in the appraisal interview.

Roland

The office situation at K2 is a challenge. A large and pleasing increase in BOA activity has contributed to an increased demand for office space. The administration is going to take another round in K2 areas in the lab building to see if it is possible to exploit the areas better and make sure that people do not hold places they are not supposed to. In the allocation of seats, we will follow the already decided ranking for allocation of office spaces: Professor, Associate Professor, researcher, postdoc, PhD student, research line student, master’s student. In addition, we will strive to have people sit near their labs and close to their partners. It is possible that we also need to utilize some lab areas as office spaces.

Finally, it is important that people report their needs for office space to Irene: Irene.Hjelmaas@uib.no

It is in everyone’s interest that these rules are followed. If we all show agility this can easily go well!

Per

All permanent employees in main position shall anually be offered an appraisal interview. As department head, I have interviews with research group leaders, heads of platforms and permanent academic staff in main positions. Research group leaders must ensure that appraisal interviews are offered to other employees in the research group, including technicians. The head of administration will offer appraisal interviews to the administrative staff.

The appraisal interview is voluntary for the employee. The conversation will be confidential and address expectations both ways, as well as efforts and results. It should be very concrete, as that makes it easier to assess the impact of it. An important point is that both parties in advance think about what should be addressed.

The purpose of the interview is to help create a better working environment, at the same time as we improve, both as individuals and organization. Medical university work is carried out in a tight relationship. This makes the appraisal inerview particularly important.

Per

Linda Eide (the one with the matching tracksuit and “Norske attraksjoner”) will contribute with the lecture “La deg begeistre!” (Be inspired!) The Grieg Academy sets the tone for a more balanced mood.

What does this have to do with HMS (Health-Milieu-Safety)? Of course this is well-founded; after all we are academic staff:

Health: “Humor is the best medicine,” though with some reservation, see (1, 2).

Milieu: To meet in the Aulas magnificent environment facilitates communication / interaction both with close and often somewhat distant colleagues in K2.

Safety: Will be attended there and then (instant security; escape routes will probably be demonstrated). The fact that we become better acquainted with each other and practice communication will undoubtedly contribute to increased safety when we are back at the respective workplaces.

We will be presented with the Working environment survey conducted in 2015. Based on the results of this survey thereafter we will work in groups and discuss what each of us can do to contribute to further development.

The HMS department will also hold more targeted posts, and there will be a good lunch (from Godt Brød)! Food as medicine was however too extensive to include in the reference list ….

Welcome!

Jone

References
1. R.E. Ferner og J.K. Aronson: Laughter and MIRTH (Methodical Investigation of Risibility, Therapeutic and Harmful): narrative synthesis, British Medical Journal 2013; 347
2. Svebak S: Forlenger god latter livet? Tidsskr Nor Lægeforen 1997; 117: 4360-1

The extended leader group has just discussed application strategies for 2016. A review of our project portfolio showed that K2 has had great success in the competition for the NRC and EU grants in recent years. In 2013, 5 of the 18 applications to the NRC was funded (28 percent), while the figure for 2014 was 7 of 19 (37 percent). The total percentage granted in 2014 was 11 percent. K2 has also had success with their EU applications. Of 24 applications 4 have been granted (17 percent), including 1 where Helse Bergen is partner and UiB third party and 1 project where UiB is coordinator. The funding percentages in the first calls in the H2020-program have been at 5 per cent or less.

To succeed in fierce national and international competition one must work systematically. We believe that the approach we have used for writing of NRC applications in recent years has contributed to our success and increased our competitiveness. Good research advisers have also been instrumental and in many cases had decisive impact.

Thus, there was a broad agreement to continue our application procedures consisting of:

• Plenary proposal discussions
• Budgeting help from the administration
• Writing support from both research advisors and experienced colleagues

To take part in these “support services” it is necessary that applicants comply with deadlines. Participation is also an excellent opportunity to test and improve your own ideas and to help others improve their applications. To obtain funding it is often not enough to have a creative idea, a broad and multi-disciplinary approach to the problem is regularly required, including good plans for dissemination and research training. One can get input and ideas on all these areas in a structured process where everyone helps each other.
One thing is certain, -those who don’t apply will not get research money.
Good luck with this spring’s most important adventure.

Eystein