We trace the evolution of digital health industry careers for behavioral medicine specialists. We discuss the current misalignment of career opportunities in the private sector with the predominant graduate education training model that emphasizes the pursuit of academic positions. We describe the potential risks to the profession and public health if the field does not adapt professional training models to be inclusive of private sector industry roles. Finally, we offer a series of recommendations aimed at trainees, faculty advisors, and training programs to better prepare trainees for meaningful careers in industry.
This commentary focuses on the career paths available for behavioral medicine scientists in the private sector digital health industry. Although this field has exciting and impactful career options, graduate training models have been slow to adapt to prepare graduates for these opportunities. We describe many actionable steps that trainees, advisors, and graduate programs can take to help training programs to evolve to prepare graduate for more diverse career paths.
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