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Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

GI Mentorship Overview

Important factors are mentee choice of mentor, written commitment, protected time for meetings.

  1. Who is in charge?

The division can provide an overall structure and resources, but the mentee is ultimately responsible for making the most of the relationship (source: Making the Most of Mentors: A Guide for Mentees, Acad Med 2009;84:140-144). The mentee needs to take ownership of the process.

  1. Self-assessment by mentee – checklist

Prior to the first meeting with the mentor or mentorship team, the mentee should complete the “Checklist for Mentees to ‘Manage Up” to Create Successful Mentoring Relationships.

  1. Assigning a mentor

Each mentee will be assigned a lead mentor.  Internal hires (completed UNC fellowship) will nominate a mentor subject to approval by Dr. Sandler . Within the first two months, external hires will be assigned a mentor after completing the checklist and meeting with Dr. Sandler.  The choice will be based on perceived shared interests. Mentors will be dropped or added based on the needs of the mentee. New faculty can add additional mentors to their teams.

A Roster of Mentors and Mentees is posted on the website.

  1. Written contract – expectations

The mentor and mentee will sign a Mentorship Agreement that lays out expectations.  At each meeting, the mentee will update their Individual Development Plan. The plan includes a self-assessment of strengths and weaknesses, career goals, issues and concerns.

  1. Diversity of mentorship

Ideally, each mentee, with the assistance of the lead mentor, will assemble a mentoring team to accomplish various functions, e.g. scientific content mentor, career-balance mentor, others.  The mentors may be drawn from outside the division, and could be drawn from outside the institution (distance mentor) depending on the needs of the mentee.

  1. Active process by mentee – the mentee needs to take ownership of the process

 

DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM

  1. Oversight. Robert Sandler will be responsible for mentorship oversight. He will make sure that lead mentors are assigned and that the identity of the mentor/mentee teams are posted on the division website.
  2. Meetings. There must be at least one meeting with the lead mentor each semester, and at least one meeting of the entire mentorship team each year prior to the annual review with the chief.  The chair of the mentoring committee will prepare a brief summary of the meeting that will be shared with the mentee, Dr. Sandler and the division chief.  Additional meetings will likely to be necessary for success, and the mentee will be responsible for setting up these meetings
  3. Curriculum. The GI Mentorship Task Force will determine the content for a mentoring curriculum that might include talks about promotion from Donna Evon – chair of the fixed term promotions committee or work-life balance
  4. Peer mentoring. The Division Chief will meet twice a year with all Assistant Professors as a group to discuss issues, frustrations, successes. Meeting as a group might promote a more open discussion.
  5. Onboarding. New faculty will be provided onboarding information about promotion, division opportunities for mentorship. Division onboarding will include instructions about mentorship.
  6. Sponsorship. More senior faculty members will be more proactive to help junior faculty obtain committee appointments in national/local organizations and networking
  7. Mentorship culture. Once per year, Dr. Sandler will review the Division’s mentorship plan and mentorship expectations at a faculty meeting. The expectations will also be posted on the web site. The expectations will be discussed with junior faculty (Assistant Professors) during onboarding and at the biannual peer mentoring meeting with the Division Chief