A mentor is someone who supports your personal and professional development. What should you expect from a good mentor?
- Time and commitment to you
- Constructive and timely feedback
- Acts as a positive role model
- Has expertise/experience in the area of your interest
- Is your advocate/sponsor
- Does not have a conflict of interest
How do you identify someone who would be a good mentor to you?
- Look at their background
- Do they do something you are interested in?
- Do they have a career or career trajectory you are interested in?
- Would they share some of your experiences/challenges?
- Ask them questions:
- Why you chose to mentor a med school student, and what do you hope to gain from this experience?
- What does mentee success look like to you? What skills do you think your protégé should develop?
- Who is in your team and how would I fit in?
- What are your expectations (time, production, etc)?
- How do you prefer to help protégés learn to conduct research? Is there a process that you normally follow?
Student-Mentor Pact
The final part of the proposal process is an expectation-setting discussion between the student and the mentor. This document should be jointly composed by the student and mentor. Students are welcome to use whichever agreement format they prefer. Below are some suggested items to include in this agreement.
Goals
What you hope to achieve as a result of this relationship.
Commitment
Student: What does the student commit to the mentor?
Mentor: What does the mentor commit to the student?
Steps to Achieving Goals
Steps to achieving goals as stated above (e.g. meeting regularly, manuscripts, etc.)
Meeting Frequency
Frequency, duration, location.
Communication/Feedback
What is the preferred method of communication?
How should issues be communicated, should they arise?
What is the preferred method for feedback?
Plan for Assessing Outcomes
How will you evaluate your progress toward desired goals?