Mentoring Plan


dvisors:
Within one month of the start of fellowship, all fellows will identify a faculty advisor. The role of the advisor is to help guide the fellow to explore the available research opportunities, ultimtely guiding the fellow toward a research pathway and a specific research mentor. As such, the advisor does not need to be an individual with whom the fellow desires or expects to do research, but rather a faculty member with knowledge of the research opportunities both within and beyond the division. The advisor should help the fellow determine the general area of research that best fits with the fellow's aptitudes and interests. The advisor should help the fellow to choose particular researchers with whom to meet during the mini-sabbaticals provided during the clinical year and discuss the results of these meetings with the fellow.

The fellow will also meet with the Program Director and the Director of Research Training during the first year to help arrive at a choice of mentor and project.

The advisor's role is variable after a research mentor is chosen. Often, the advisor will be asked to be on the fellow's Advisory Committee (see below).


rimary Research Mentor:
By the end of the clinical year, all fellows should have chosen a primary research mentor. This faculty member will be primarily responsible for helping the fellow develop and implement a plan of research for the remainder of the fellowship. In choosing a research mentor, fellows should assure themselves that the mentor has the desire and resources, including time, to provide the level of support needed for the successful completion of the fellow's research training and projects. In general, the primary mentor is responsible for providing the space and resources that the fellow requires to be successful. The primary mentor and fellow should meet at regular intervals to discuss the progress of research activities.


econdary Research Mentor(s):
The program (and the NIH) encourages fellows to collaborate with a variety of faculty members both inside and outside the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. In addition to a primary research mentor, then, the fellow may identify one or more secondary research mentors. Often, these faculty members will be involved in one aspect of the fellow's research training or in one of several projects the fellow is undertaking. Secondary mentors and fellows will meet on an as needed basis.


dvisory Committee:
Borrowing from the graduate education model, all research fellows will form an Advisory Committee composed of three or four faculty members. The composition of each committee will usually include the primary research mentor, a secondary research mentor and faculty member (often the advisor) without direct involvement in the fellow's research. In addition, the Program Director or the Director of Research Training must be included in each committee. The charge of this committee is to oversee the professional development of the fellow rather than simply focusing on a particular research project. This includes assuring that the fellow is completing a course of training and funding that will allow the fellow to secure an academic position and, ultimately, be successful in a junior faculty role. The fellow will meet with the Advisory Committee every six months.


eneral Responsibilities of Advisors and Mentors:
The role of any mentor is to provide the teaching and guidance required to allow a trainee to succeed not only in the research years of the fellowship, but throughout an academic career. The excellent mentor will serve as a role model for trainees. Specific domains of mentoring include:

Intellectual Growth and Development
Professional Career Development
Academic Guidance
Skills Development
Personal Communication

Fellows will be asked to provide evaluations of both primary and secondary mentors on an annual basis. More importantly, fellows are encouraged to discuss any perceived deficiencies in the areas above with specific mentors and/or the Program Director in order to improve upon the relationship.

Additional Information:
Mentors in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

Discussion Guide

Fellow to Faculty Transition Notes

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Last Updated: September 4, 2008