On the Scene with the Associate Dean: November 2021 OBGE Newsletter
“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”
- John C. Crosby
Mentoring is an integral part of biomedical training at Duke. I often reflect on the support I received from memorable mentors such as my college genetics professor Dr. Louise Paquin who single-handedly pushed me to apply to graduate school, and Dr. Gary Karpen, my postdoc mentor, who is responsible for keeping me in science when I was convinced that it held no future for me. The time and care these trusted role models and colleagues devoted to me and my professional development have shaped the type of mentor I now strive to be. Studies of the mental health of our Duke biomedical PhD students have shown that mentor support is an effective intervention to reduce burnout (1,2). Mentoring relationships are only as good as the mentee is willing and the mentor is capable. Both parties need skills to make them optimally effective in their roles. Mentoring is a priority for OBGE. Most of us want to be good mentors and mentees but often lack knowledge of structured resources to build and improve our abilities.
OBGE and School of Medicine (SoM) are providing resources to cultivate excellent mentoring practices at all stages. Effective July 2021, graduate faculty in SoM PhD programs who wish to train a graduate student are required to complete official mentor training. OBGE has partnered with the Office for Research Mentoring (ORM) to offer the National Research Mentoring Network Curriculum “Entering Mentoring” training, a set of 6 modules, focused on topics such as “Maintaining Effective Communication”, “Cultivating Ethical Behavior”, and “Aligning Expectations”. Completion of the 6 modules meets the requirement for foundational training that all graduate faculty should complete during AY21-22. OBGE will offer faculty trainings in July and January each year, while ORM will offer trainings throughout the year.Thereafter, faculty will take one advanced mentoring module annually from the ORM menu. Trainings can also be scheduled by programs or departments by request – several faculty in the SoM are NRMN-trained facilitators who can lead the trainings. Reach out to ORM or OBGE for more information.
OBGE provides resources to support students in becoming effective mentors, and the new OBGE Peer Mentor Network is a key example. During AY21-22, 11 Peer Mentors will be available to 1st year PhD students and are currently participating as discussion leaders, along with 11 Gateway Group faculty mentors, in the new Fall course BIOTRAIN 701 “Foundations in Professionalism”. I encourage you to read more about the OBGE Peer Mentors in the accompanying article in this newsletter. Please note that the call for Peer Mentors for AY22-23 will be in April 2022. Students are also learning about “mentorability” in BIOTRAIN 701 and BIOTRAIN 751 (The Responsible Scientist I). These OBGE courses aim to help students navigate being effective mentees and learn to “mentor up” by finding support and building professional development skills throughout their PhD training.
What are OBGE’s future plans in the mentoring space? For AY21, we will acknowledge faculty who have completed required mentor trainings by adding badges to their Faculty Research Series profiles in Duke T3 (Trainee Tracking Tool). Look for these badges by the end of the semester. We also plan to develop a Leadership and Management in Action Program (L-MAP) mini-course to be offered in AY22. This course will be open to any SoM PhD student interested in practicing leadership by understanding the interpersonal and psychological foundations of leading teams and managing people. Stay tuned for more details. Many of you share a passion for the highest standards of mentoring, and I personally thank you for your commitment to being and seeking effective mentors. Feel free to reach out to me or OBGE at any time to discuss ideas for new mentoring resources.
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1 G.A. Nagy et al. (2019) Burnout and Mental Health Problems in Biomedical Doctoral Students.CBE Life Sci Educ 18:ar27,1–14.
2 A.J. Hish et al. (2019) Applying the Stress Process Model to Stress-Burnout and Stress-Depression Relationships in Biomedical Doctoral Students: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study. CBE Life Sci Educ 8(4):ar51, 1-11.