Science Article
October 7, 2004
Impartial, confidential, insightful
Nancy Haigwood brings a career’s worth of experience in scientific research to her new role as the center’s first ombudsperson
Dr. Nancy Haigwood brings a strong research background to the Fred Hutchinson ombudsperson’s office.
Photo by Todd McNaught |
Lisa LaBench has an opportunity that most graduate students only dream of — to deliver a talk on her research at a prominent scientific meeting. To prepare for the big event, she assembled her slides and prepared a practice talk to deliver to her adviser and lab colleagues. But instead of the constructive feedback she had anticipated receiving from her mentor, she heard such harsh criticism that she’s now dreading the conference. She had hoped her adviser would provide mentorship in good speaking skills, but now she’s feeling as though he thinks she’s a hopeless case, which makes her afraid to ask for the help she needs.
It’s days before a grant deadline and Carl Coinvestigator knows that as in past years, a certain collaborating senior faculty member will keep Carl waiting until the last minute for his part of the grant that they are submitting together. It means Carl will have to put off his work for his laboratory, work even more than he had planned over the weekend, and somehow find someone to pick up his daughter from day care. When he informed the senior faculty member two weeks ago of his time constraints, he was made to feel as though he wasn’t working hard enough if he wasn’t willing to work through the 11th hour. Carl isn’t sure how to raise the subject again without damaging his relationship with this valuable collaborator. He’s also concerned about his grants administrator, who is very unhappy about having to pull the grant together at the last minute.
Clarifying communication
For these kinds of on-the-job issues that occasionally arise in a research setting, the dilemma could likely be solved with some clear communication between the parties involved. Yet sometimes, it takes a little help from a fair and impartial bystander to get the discourse going. That’s when Dr. Nancy Haigwood, Fred Hutchinson’s first scientific ombudsperson, hopes that center faculty and staff will give her a call.
“Conflict is a normal part of life, but sometimes it can interfere with people’s productivity or make it difficult to work,” said Haigwood, who joined the center last spring. “Productivity goes down when people are unhappy."
“My role is to empower people in those situations to focus on their ideal outcomes and to offer suggestions to help achieve them. Usually, people just want smooth communication and resolution.”
Haigwood, who works part time at the center, comes to the position with a strong background in research. She is a full member of the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, where she directs the Viral Vaccines Program, and a professor at the University of Washington. Prior to her positions at SBRI and UW, Haigwood spent 16 years as a researcher in the biotech industry, with positions at Genex Corp., Chiron Corp. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
Haigwood’s background and interpersonal skills make her an ideal fit for the job, said Dr. Lee Hartwell, president and director.
“We are very fortunate to have recruited Nancy as ombudsperson,” he said. “As a productive and experienced scientist, she has had firsthand experience with the issues that arise between people in the pursuit of science, and she can provide counsel and advice with the authority of a peer. She is a very thoughtful and wise person who will be of great benefit to center scientists, and we are lucky that she considers this an important enough function to be willing to devote a considerable amount of her time working with us on this.”
As ombudsperson, Haigwood assists in resolving conflicts between faculty, scientific staff and trainees and promotes collegial interactions and a collaborative work environment at the center. Although she’s called upon to help with a variety of situations, all are treated with the same complete confidentiality and impartiality that her job demands. Since her arrival in April, she’s been approached for help by faculty members, postdocs and graduate students.
Neutral party
“It’s a matter of meshing two points of view,” she said. “Because I’m not emotionally involved in the outcome, I can be a neutral party.”
Haigwood serves no other role at the center, which allows her to act as a completely independent party in any conflict resolution. In addition, she keeps no records of the information shared with her by those who seek her help.
Besides her many years of experience in successful conflict resolution during a research career in both academia and industry, Haigwood recently completed a training session sponsored by The Ombudsman Association on handling conflicts among individuals and groups. That meeting, which drew ombudspersons from the United States and Canada, provided her with the opportunity to hone skills and learn about similar programs at other institutions.
Haigwood’s primary responsibility is to assist in resolving conflicts between researchers in all divisions, as well as among project team members in the Public Health Sciences Division. However, she notes that conflicts also can arise between researchers and administrative staff that may stem from differences in work cultures. She’s on hand to help with those situations as well.
“Most people at the center do touch a scientific function — in many ways directly and in some cases, obliquely,” she said.
Mentoring expectations
Many of the conflicts Haigwood has observed since joining the center stem from differences in mentoring expectations between trainees and faculty. Rather than wait for conflicts to arise, Haigwood has proposed developing a framework that trainees and mentors can use as a starting point for discussions at the onset of the mentoring relationship. Although there is no standard training experience for a graduate student or postdoc, there are many common mentoring issues, she said.
“For example, will you have regular meetings with your adviser? How much guidance should be given? If you are a postdoc, can you take your project with you when you leave to start a faculty position?”
In an effort to make communication about these issues more explicit, the ombudsman office at the National Institutes of Health now offers a template for informal agreements for all levels of investigators to use on a voluntary basis at the start of research projects. Haigwood has begun to solicit input from faculty, trainees and other staff to determine how this framework might best be adapted for use at Fred Hutchinson.
The center already provides an impressive array of resources to support graduate students and postdocs, Haigwood said. “I’d like explore ways we can do things even better.”
Ombudsperson’s office hours
To contact Dr. Nancy Haigwood or learn more about the ombudsperson role, come to a series of “Coffee with the Ombudsperson” events in November and December near the coffee stands in the Yale, Public Health Sciences and Thomas buildings. Look for upcoming fliers and announcements.
Haigwood’s office hours are posted weekly outside her office at M1-B845. Hours typically are from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. on Mondays, 1:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on Thursdays. She’s also available on other days and times by appointment. She can be reached at (206) 667-6687 or (206) 256-7338 (off site), or by e-mail at nhaigwoo@fhcrc.org. Learn more by visiting the ombudsperson Web site at : www.fhcrc.org/admin/directors_office/ombudsperson/.
