Mentoring Program
- Instructors and Assistant Professors in the department are expected to have at least one mentor (or a mentoring team) with whom they must meet at least twice a year to look at their progress and discuss faculty development. Associate and Full Professors also are welcome to have mentors.
- The make-up and effectiveness of the mentoring program in place for each junior faculty must be discussed with faculty members of the Neurology faculty development committee when they meet once every 18 months.
- We strongly recommend and encourage all senior faculty in the department to serve as mentors. However, we understand that effective mentor-mentee relationships rely on personal attributes and affinities between individuals, and that senior faculty who get involved in this process do so because of their personal interest in mentoring and guiding junior faculty of their choice. Thus, although highly encouraged, being a faculty mentor is not a requirement in the Department of Neurology.
- Oftentimes, faculty members will have a mentoring team instead of a single mentor. Different mentors can provide valuable professional and personal guidance in different domains and using different approaches. To be effective, all mentors on the team must be given the opportunity to talk to each other and exchange with the mentee about ideas and tips related to faculty development. To take full advantage of their mentoring team, junior faculty must be actively involved in setting up regular meetings (at least twice a year) with their mentoring team to discuss faculty development.
- Your mentor or members of your mentoring team may be faculty inside the department or both inside and outside the department; it is recommended that at least one mentor is inside the department.
- Mentor-mentee relationships may not be permanent and change is acceptable. If either the mentor or the mentee desires a change because they are no longer compatible or because there are changes in the goals and interests of either person, they are encouraged to share this directly with the other party. In addition, the person desiring a change is welcome to speak with the Chair of Faculty Development or members of the Neurology faculty development committee to receive assistance in the process of making this change.
- There are two different avenues for mentor selection within the department. The most commonly used and highly recommended path is that junior faculty members choose their own mentor(s) based on similar scientific, clinical, or professional interests and/or someone who has shown particular interest in their professional growth and success. Alternatively, junior faculty members who have problems finding a mentor may be assigned one based on similar scientific, clinical, or professional interests and the needs and goals the mentee has established for their career path. The latter alternative can be used only in last resort for reasons discussed above about effective mentor-mentee relationships.
- The mentoring partnerships that form should be trusting and collaborative.
- One key goal of the mentoring relationship is to support the mentee’s increasing career independence. To this end, it is essential that the relationship foster increasing levels of autonomy. For example, the mentor’s involvement can be more pronounced in the early stages of the mentee’s career, which may lead to joint achievements (peer-reviewed manuscripts, grants etc…). However, over time, the mentor should be on fewer of the mentee’s papers/grants and less involved in their educational and clinical endeavors, committee and other service work, etc. Such career independence is essential for professional growth and satisfaction, as well as for promotion.
- It is not uncommon for one of the mentee’s mentors to be the person responsible for conducting the faculty reviews associated with the annual Career Development Conference Reports. However, this means that the mentor has a dual role with the mentee. In situations where this complexity is of concern to either party, an alternative arrangement should be requested to the Chair for Faculty Development or the Department Chair.
Roles and Responsibilities of the Mentor
- Devote time, energy, and resources to the mentoring relationship
- Be knowledgeable about the Emory system and promotion guidelines and share this institutional knowledge with the mentees
- Offer to meet with your mentee as early as possible after the start of his/her appointment. Get acquainted and share things in common that make each of you unique in this relationship. Talk about each other’s expectations, time commitments, and other issues and concerns.
- Continue to meet regularly on a mutually agreed upon schedule to provide guidance and support, follow-up on progress and accomplishments, and address concerns and barriers to progress.
- Have a shared understanding of confidentiality and honor this understanding
- Agree on means of communication to keep in touch
- Help establish clear goals and expectations for the mentee’s career trajectory and for the relationship
- Stimulate questions about specific career interests
- Provide emotional support and advice, if needed
- Help build specific competencies
- Plan experiences and activities
- Offer resources to the mentee to assist in career growth and exposure
- Promote independence and autonomy for the mentee
- Offer the mentee opportunities for networking and career advancement (e.g., offer co-authorship on invited papers or chapters, recommend for appointment to committees, provide opportunities for journal article reviewing)
- Provide constructive feedback regarding the mentee’s strengths and potential areas for improvement
- Serve as an advocate for the mentee
- Meet with the department chair or others in senior administrative positions to help ensure that the mentee has the resources and opportunities needed to excel
- Offer guidance to the mentee on the mentee’s mentoring efforts with more junior colleagues
Roles and Responsibilities of the Mentee
- In choosing a mentor(s), meet them to ascertain the goodness of fit
- Be a driver of the mentoring relationship
- Be prepared for all scheduled meetings with your mentor to utilize allotted time (e.g., investigate potential funding opportunities or committee or community involvements to discuss with the mentor)
- Set up at least two meetings per year with your mentors to discuss faculty development
- Take the initiative to keep in touch and request formal meetings
- Describe your expectations about what you want to achieve from the mentoring relationship and identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that you want to gain
- Be sure you and your mentor agree and review/update the goals and expectations for your progress and the mentoring experience
- Share your thoughts, plans and goals about your career development with your mentor in an ongoing fashion
- Set up and carry out agreed upon activities designed to further your career
- Work with your mentor to identify people and information that might be helpful to you
- Share your honest self-assessment
- Be open to ideas and suggestions offered to you by your mentor
- Take full advantage of the opportunity to learn and grow
- Follow through with suggestions and recommendations