Mentoring and Mentorship

Ask the Experts: Finding and Working With a Mentor
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)

“A mentor is a cheerleader; a mentor is a facilitator; a mentor is a motivator, and sometimes even a nudge. But, first and foremost, a mentor has your best interests at heart”.

Hear from Robert Hung, MD, and Carol Baffi-Dugan, a health professions advisor, about what a mentor is, how to find one, and how to develop the relationship.

Developmental Network Mapping Exercise
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

Mentorship has been positively associated with career development and productivity. New models of mentorship have transitioned from the reliance on the dyadic (single mentor-mentee pair) and hierarchical (mentor is senior to mentee) framework to Developmental Networks, which emphasize the importance of relationships with people who help get the work done, help advance one’s career, and/or provide personal support. This exercise takes you through the process of creating your own developmental network chart and map using templates and samples as guides.

Mapping Your Mentor Network (Part 1)
Mentoring Up for Early Career Investigators (Pfund, Meagher, Baez, House)

Utilize this worksheet to identify the constellation of mentors who will support your professional development priorities. This works in connection with “Identifying, Prioritizing and Communicating Your Needs” worksheet under the Managing Expectations section.

Mapping Your Mentor Network (Part 2)
Mentoring Up for Early Career Investigators (Pfund, Meagher, Baez, House)

Using the insights from part 1, create a visual representation of your mentoring network. This can help identify gaps in your mentoring network or relationships that can be established and fostered.

Mentoring Map
National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)

Check out the NCFDD mentor map to get some clarity on your broader support network of mentors (peers, coaches, family members, academic friends). Take note of whether you may be over-relying on one or two people to meet all of your mentor needs. This map also helps to highlight where we have the biggest gaps in our career networks.

Mentoring Network Map

Use this Mentor Network Map worksheet to help you conceptualize and organize how your mentors fulfill different professional and personal roles to create a mentor network that helps you achieve your goals.

Assessing Fit Checklist

Mentors and mentees alike should take the time early on to asses whether a particular mentoring arrangement is right. The key question to ask is whether or not this mentor (or team of mentors) is the most appropriate advisor for this mentee at this time considering the mentee’s current development needs and long term professional aspiration. Frequent conversations, especially upfront in the relationship, will help to assess fit and begin to develop the necessary trust for a successful relationship. Use this Assessing Fit Checklist to ensure your conversations have covered appropriate ground and resulted in a shared commitment.

CliftonStrengths Assessment

Completing this online talent assessment will help you to: discover what you naturally do best; learn how to develop your greatest talents into strengths; and use your personalized results and reports to maximize your potential

Mentee Self-Assessment Worksheet
Indiana University School of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Resource Website

This self-evaluation is designed to assess your skills, abilities, strengths and weaknesses in order to manage your career development. Complete this and share with your mentor; request feedback and assistance in developing and strengthening your skills in certain areas.

Mentor Self-Assessment Form: How Good a Mentor Are You?
Indiana University School of Medicine Faculty Mentoring Resource Website

Provide an example that demonstrates mastery in each mentoring strategy. Then reflect on how you can improve.

Mentoring Plan Worksheet
Duke University

Effective Communication Styles Inventory

Determine effective communication styles for your mentor/mentee. The ECSI measures your communication style on a 4-point scale: “Thinking”, “Doing” “Collaborating”, and “Creating”. Given one’s style, tips are provided on how to get someone’s attention and/or influence their thinking and/or behavior utilizing their style – and what’s important to them – versus your style and what’s important to you.

How to Develop a Productive Mentor/Mentee Relationship
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ (STS)

Whether you are still in training, an early careerist, or a senior faculty member, taking part in a productive mentor/mentee arrangement has long-term benefits. But how do you identify a good mentor or mentee and cultivate that relationship?

Mastering Mentorship and Menteeship in Academic Medicine

Dr. Vaughn discusses good habits mentors and mentees should develop to maintain an effective relationship.

Presented at UW-Madison as a part of 2021 Department of Medicine Grand Rounds.

Presenter(s): Valerie Vaughn, MD, MSc, FACP

Mentorship Malpractice

[Please note that access to the full version may require netID login]

Small intermittent lapses are natural when managing various responsibilities. Mentor behavior that puts a mentee’s academic career at risk crosses a threshold we term mentorship malpractice. This article outlines active and passive prototypes of mentorship malpractice, and offers solutions for mentees to approach these important mentorship problems.

Author(s): Vineet Chopra, MD, MSc; Dana P. Edelson, MD, MS; Sanjay Saint, MD, MPH

[Article Abstract]

The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM

Effective mentors are critical in the development of undergraduate and graduate students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM)—especially for many members of underrepresented and marginalized populations. This guide will help you to foster a viable, sustainable, and effective mentoring support system in STEMM.

Compact between Resident Physicians and Teachers
AAMC

This compact is intended to provide institutional GME sponsors, program directors and residents with a model document that can be used as is, or be modified in accordance with local circumstances. Please also review possible compact uses.

The compact was originated by the AAMC and its principles are supported by many organizations. Please see for more information: https://www.aamc.org/what-we-do/mission-areas/medical-research/resident-compact

Examples of Mentor Compacts/Agreements

ICTR has provided five different frameworks to help each mentor customize their own compact. See which elements appeal to you and the needs of your mentees, and use them to launch a thorough and explicit conversation early on in the project and/or relationship. Use the documents dynamically to structure regular conversations and help ensure follow-thru.

Identifying, Prioritizing and Communicating Your Needs
Mentoring Up for Early Career Investigators (Pfund, Meagher, Baez, House)

This worksheet can help identify what role(s) you need your mentor to play and can provide a starting off point for a conversation about these needs with your mentor.

Mentorship Action Plan Template – “Mentoring for What”
Melissa McDaniels and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (www.cimerproject.org)

Utilizing this worksheet will help enable mentor-mentee pairs to make priorities for how they will use their time together.

Mentorship Action Plan Template – “Mentoring for What”
Melissa McDaniels and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (www.cimerproject.org)

Utilizing this worksheet will help enable mentor-mentee pairs to make priorities for how they will use their time together.

Career & Individual Development Plan

The Career & Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a way to explore and define training goals, professional development needs, and career objectives. A selection of templates, tips, and strategies for developing IDPs are provided.

UW Certified Professional Coach Program (UWCPC)(link)

The UWCPC is an Accredited Coach Training Program (ACTP) through the International Coach Federation (ICF), the accrediting body for coaching. ACTP accredited programs are all inclusive training programs, which offer start to finish coach training.

UW employees may be eligible for a discounted program fee. Please email Chariti Gent (chariti.gent@wisc.edu) or Michelle Galarowicz (michelle.galarowicz@wisc.edu) for details.

AAMC Faculty Vitae. The Educator Portfolio: A Tool for Career Development

Career development and advancement of all medical faculty members—from basic scientists to clinicians—involves documentation of educational accomplishments. A well-planned educator portfolio (EP) can play a key role in advancing your career as an educator. Review these AAMC best practice tips for creating an educator portfolio.

AAMC Perspectives on Mentoring Relationships

Tips and narratives about mentoring relationships from faculty and leaders in academic medicine.

Entering Mentoring: A Seminar to Train a New Generation of Scientists
The Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, Supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professors Program

Materials dedicated to improving the mentoring skills of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who may become science faculty.

Author(s): Jo Handelsman, Christine Pfund, Sarah Miller Lauffer, Christine Maidl Pribbenow

Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring
Columbia University

From the Columbia University Office of the Provost, this guide details best practices in faculty mentoring. This guide is broken into four parts—mentoring overview, organizing a mentoring program best practices, tools for mentors, and strategies for mentees.

Health Mentorship in Academic Medicine
UCLA Health

Author(s): Anil K. Rustgi, Division of Gastroenterology, Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
and Gail A. Hecht, Section of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Mentoring in Academic Medicine
Harvard Medical School, Office for Diversity Inclusion & Community Partnership

This resource provides access to a video series on tips for mentees and mentors.

Mentoring Faculty in Academic Medicine— A New Paradigm?

This journal article describes research that finds that a group peer collaborative mentoring model is an effective and reliable mentoring model in academic medicine.

Mentorship in Academic Medicine

[Please note that access to the full version may require netID login]

Mentorship in Academic Medicine is an evidence-based guide for establishing and maintaining successful mentoring relationships for both mentors and mentees. It provides useful strategies and tactics for overcoming the common problems and flaws in mentoring programs and fostering productive and successful mentoring relationships and is a valuable guide for both mentors and mentees.

Author(s): Sharon E. Straus MD, FRCPC, MSc, David L. Sackett OC, MD, FRSC, FRCP

[Synopsis]

Mentor Mentee Tools
Medical University of South Carolina

Tools for T32 Trainees and their Mentors.

Mentoring Toolkit
GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Center for Faculty Excellence

This toolkit aims to assist mentees and mentors in making the most of the mentoring relationship.

Mentoring & Training
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

This section provides guidelines and resources for effective mentoring in the Intramural Research Program (IRP).

Peer Faculty Mentoring
Stanford University School of Medicine

This course is designed to expand learners’ knowledge of the dynamics of effective mentoring and techniques that yield positive results in mentoring relationships. It includes assessments of readiness and skills that were developed at Stanford based on evidence from research on mentoring effectiveness of peers and junior colleagues.

Presented by Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Stanford University School of Medicine

UWSMPH Mentoring Guide

This new UWSMPH Mentoring Guide will help to: 1) provide an overview of the mentoring functions and structures so that departments can optimize mentoring structure to support all of their faculty and 2) differentiate the mentoring from the oversight function of the executive committee or their designees. It is provided here in a web format.

See also this pdf version of the Promotions Oversight Committee (POC) Guide.

Promotions Oversight Committee (POC) Guide

This new UWSMPH Promotions Oversight Committee (POC) Guide was created to provide clarity to departments, faculty and committees for the process of promotion from assistant to associate professor on the Clinical Health Sciences (CHS) and Tenure tracks. It is provided here in a web format.

See also this pdf version of the Promotions Oversight Committee (POC) Guide.

Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM Online Guide
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)

Find information, resources and mentoring tools to help you establish strong and effective mentoring relationships and mentorship education initiatives.

University of Minnesota Mentor Training

Learn how to advance the next generation of health researchers by becoming an effective research mentor. Free to external users who create a guest account.

Mentoring Requirements for Assistant Professors
University of Wisconsin- Madison

UW-Madison’s Faculty Policies and Procedures require that departments establish procedures for mentoring (“guidance”) and annual evaluation (“oversight”) of assistant professors. Chapter 5.21.E and Chapter 7 provide the following specific requirements for these procedures.

UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) Mentorship

This commentary covers definitions of mentorship in academic medicine, identifies the constituencies, clarifies the specific issues between mentor and mentee, underscores milestones and targets, proposes how to measure outcomes, and suggests approaches to mentorship that might be applicable nationally.

Review these introductory Mentor and Mentee Resources framed around the four phases of the relationship: Selection, Alignment, Cultivation, and Closure.