NCRR COBRE Program

1
Mentoring Therapeutic Relationships
Charles G Irvin, Ph.D.
2
Who Needs a Mentor?

• Undergraduate students
• Graduate students
• Postdoctoral trainees
• Early-career science professionals
• Scientists at all other career stages
• All of the above

3
What is Mentoring and Why is it Important?
4
Mentor An Ancient Notion

• Homers Odyssey
• Mentor was a wise and trusted counselor whom
  Odysseus entrusted with care and education of his
  son Telemachus

5
Mentoring Goals and Objectives
Whats in it for me ?????
6
Benefits of Mentoring to the organization

• Mentoring
• Increases ability to attract and retain talent
• Enhances organizational culture and image
• Empowers a leadership organization
• Improves employee commitment
• Validates individual contributions
• Builds organizational capacity
• Retains corporate knowledge

7
Why Mentor ?

• People falling thru the cracks
• The world is a different place
• We have a lot of young people
• Cost of new faculty
• NIH suggests we do it

8
(No Transcript)
9
What Does the Mentor Get Out of It?

• Pass on successes
• Practice interpersonal management skills
• Become recognized
• Expand their (your) horizons
• Gain more than the mentee does

10
Why should we devote ourselves to Mentorship?

• Academic research, like any professional
  endeavor, is a continuum of experience and
  accomplishment
• At each point in the continuum, there are junior
  and senior partners
• Serving as a mentor keeps us fresh, thoughtful
  and humble regarding the career development
  process

11
NHLBI Says
NHLBI Workshop on Training 1999

• Mentorship
• The importance of good mentorship and the many
  current threats to its practice emerged as a
  major theme throughout the discussion.
• Participants recognized that the role of the
  mentor is frequently ill-defined and that it may
  receive inadequate emphasis during review of
  training, fellowship, and career development
  grant applications, but that it is crucial at all
  steps in a trainees career development.

12
NHLBI Says
NHLBI Workshop on Training 1999

• Key recommendations related to mentorship
  included
• Development of materials and programs for
  training in mentorship.
• Encouragement of team approaches to mentorship
  to enhance the multidisciplinary nature of
  training.
• Provision of adequate support for mentors
  efforts.
• Increased emphasis on evaluation of mentorship
  plans in training and career development award
  applications.

13
QUESTION 1
Do we need formally mentor our students or junior
faculty ?
14
The Paradigm
Success
You
15
The Paradigm
Success
16
The Paradigm
Mentor
Success
17
The Paradigm
Mentor
Success
Others
18
What Mentoring Is All About
The mentoring partnership is an agreement between
two people sharing experiences and expertise to
help with personal and professional growth.
19
What Mentoring Is NOT About

• Doing the protégés work for them
• Overcoming basic skills deficits
• Therapy

20
Vermont Lung Center Program

• Research in Progress Seminar
• Vibrant visiting professor program

• 3) Scientific skills career development
  curriculum
• Presentation skills workshop
• Mentoring workshop
• Scientific writing workshop
• Grantsmanship workshop
• The Lung Mechanic course
• Genetic Manipulation of Mice and Gene Regulation
  Course
• Basic/Clinical Research Interactions
• Survival Skills
• 4) Bolton Valley Retreat

21
QUESTION 2
Is a one-size-fits all approach the best way to
Mentor ?
22
Why Mentor?
23
VLC Junior Faculty 2005

• David Kaminsky M.D.
• Yvonne Janssen-Heininger Ph.D.
• Scott Wagers M.D.
• Mike Young M.D.
• Gil Allen M.D.
• Matt Poytner Ph.D.
• Dan Weiss M.D., Ph.D.
• Anne Dixon M.D.
• Ben Suratt M.D.
• Laurie Whittaker M.D.
• Lennart Lundblad Ph.D.

24
A Good Mentor....

• Truly delights in success of trainees
• Helps to identify, and encourages
  acceptance/adaptation to strengths and weaknesses
• Offers criticism that doesnt shame/discourage
• Listens, without judgment
• Is open-minded about different work styles,
  career goals
• Teaches both by instruction and by example
• Supports intellectually, emotionally,
  financially
• Is your advocate inside and outside institution

25
A Good Mentee

• Takes equal and active responsibility in
  mentoring partnership
• Helps mentor to identify strengths and weaknesses
  in training situation and mentoring relationship
• Accepts positive and negative feedback graciously
• Works toward positive solutions
• Is responsive to advice
• Respectful of mentors time and commitments
• Listens, watches
• Repays mentor indirectly by helping others

26
The Mentoring Process
27
From the beginning.

• Specific lab guidelines
• - effort expected
• - intellectual property issues
• 1) authorship
• 2) what trainee can leave with
• - other lab personnel
• Laboratory procedures
• Critical reading
• Responsible conduct of research

28
From the beginning (2).

• Develop a strategic plan for career development
• One page with bullets
• One, three and 5-10 year plans
• Meet after each seminar
• Feedback from others esp. visiting professors
• Meet 1-2x/year with research committee
• Start grant writing sooner than later

29
Evaluation and Follow Up

• Seminars
• External/Internal Advisory Committees
• Visiting Professors
• Retreat
• Chairmans impressions
• Promotion committee reports

30
Charlies Axiom

• Research is much better than working for a
  Living !

31
Optimal Mentorship

• Mentorship must be customized, dynamic
• Two-way street - requires engagement, commitment
  from both partners
• Powerful growth experience for both mentor and
  mentee
• A process that takes preparation, dedication and
  practice

32
Professional Skills Networking

• One of most important benefits conferred on
  trainees is admission to network
• Trainees meet with seminar speakers
• Take to meetings, introduce
• Encourage trainees to approach your colleagues
  about scientific matters, using your name

33
Moving On.

• Next physical career move
• Moving on mentally, emotionally
• Later assistance as needed

34
TOP TEN Tips for Mentors
Set ground rules early. Help changes
happen. Avoid information overload.
Share decision-making. Know when to
intervene. Also know when to back off
Maintain the relationship. Dont forget to
meet regularly. Know when to wean.
Find time to mentor. Reflect on your
mentoring.
35
What Are Mentors?
Mentors are guides. They lead us along the
journey of our lives. We trust them because they
have been there before. They embody our hopes,
cast light on the way ahead, interpret arcane
signs, warn us of lurking dangers, and point out
unexpected delights along the way Laurent A
Daloz
36
Questions for discussion
Do we need formal mentoring programs ? Is there
one best way to mentor ? What do you want in a
mentor ?
37
The Vermont Lung Center
A Bridge from Science to Patient Care
38
Resources for Mentoring
1) Howard Hughes Medical Insitute www.hhmi.org/gra
nts/office/graduate/labmanagement 2) American
Heart Association Mentoring Handbook 3)
American Physiological Society -IDP 4) NIH
Intramural Research A guide to Training and
Mentoring in the Intramural Research Program at
NIH 5) Adviser, Teacher, Role Model,
Friend On being a mentor to students in Science
and Engineering National Academy of Sciences,
1997