At entry into the fellowship program, each trainee is assigned a near-peer mentor (fellow buddy), a junior faculty mentor, and a senior faculty mentor. We believe that providing each trainee with multiple mentors along the continuum of career development smoothens the transition to our institution, and stimulates early consideration of issues important to the trainee’s academic development and growth. In addition to these division mentors, trainees are expected to identify a primary research mentor in their areas of focus with both formal and informal mechanisms in place to encourage this interaction.
We have also implemented an Individual Development Plan (IDP) which provides a communication process for both the fellow and mentors to identify short- and long-term career goals and discussion of time frame for fellowship completion, define milestones for expected scholarly contributions, determine the fellow’s progress in development of relevant skills, and identify professional development resources that may be beneficial.
