Table 2

Frequencies of comments by theme and subtheme across focus groups

Major themes and definitions	Group A early-career faculty n=8	Group B mid-career faculty n=9	Group C senior faculty n=9	Total
Session structure/format:
1.0 Operations and program logistics such as meeting times, locations, length, and frequency	25	24	13	62
1.1 Small groups to foster collaborative learning	10	11	2	23
1.2 Individualized feedback from a grant writing expert	4	9	7	20
1.3 Networking with colleagues	7	3	2	12
1.4 Include individuals that could provide more insight into the grant reviewing perspective and tips and tricks to grant writing	3	2	0	5
Total	49	49	24	*122*
Mentorship:
2.0 Resources for mentors	15	18	9	42
2.1 Being a good mentor—resources to support mentors to improve their mentoring	8	12	4	24
2.2 The importance of mentors being more engaged in their mentee’s career development	3	0	11	14
2.3 Being a good mentee—qualities/actions that make a good mentee	2	4	7	13
2.4 Incentivizing mentoring	1	0	1	2
Total	29	34	32	95
Individualized pathways to independence:
3.1 Finding appropriate grants that match career interests	17	7	10	34
3.2 Best practices in grant writing	9	1	8	13
3.3 Compelling storytelling through refined grant writing to secure more funding	0	8	1	9
3.4 Simulate review process to help research investigators write successful grants	1	0	1	2
3.5 Navigating NIH/institutional resources	1	0	1	2
3.6 Revising for resubmitting grants after feedback	0	0	2	2
Total	28	16	23	67