The relationship between Mentor and Mentee can be a critical determinant for successful career development. Effective mentoring of trainees and early career faculty is a professional responsibility, and the Office for Research Mentoring is offering a number of programs to help guide both novice and experienced mentors to expand their knowledge, and provide tools and resources to improve the mentor and mentee experiences.
Foundational Mentor Training
The Office for Research Mentoring is partnering with the National Research Mentoring Network to provide training for both mentors and mentees. The course is adapted from the Entering Mentoring series developed by the University of Wisconsin and is given as a 6-hour workshop (or three 2-hour sessions as shown below) centered on group discussions and reflections.
Mentor training includes the following objectives:
Session 1
Maintaining Effective Communication: developing skills to communicate across different backgrounds, engage in active listening, and provide constructive feedback
Aligning Expectations: effectively establishing mutually beneficial expectations for the mentoring relationship
Session 2
Assessing Understanding: using multiple strategies to assess and enhance mentee understanding of core concepts and processes
Session 3
Promoting Professional Development: develop a strategy for guiding professional development and sustain a dialogue with mentees on professional goals
Cultivating Ethical Behavior: fostering excellence and integrity in research as part of the mentoring relationship
Training is offered at least once per year. The next training will be in late 2025/early 2026.
Advanced Mentor Training
Advanced professional development opportunities on mentoring topics are available through numerous offices within the School of Medicine and the university campus as a whole. Each PI is expected to participate in at least one mentoring-related professional development session per year. Examples include sessions on crucial conversations, articulating your mentoring philosophy, or promoting research self-efficacy.