Faculty Development & Mentoring Program                       

Our Mission

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine is dedicated to enhance and support an environment where faculty can achieve their full potential in clinical service, research, scholarship, teaching, and academic service.  The department recognizes that junior faculty need both specific/content-oriented mentoring (e.g., specialty-specific career information) and content expertise (e.g., teaching skills, or professional writing skills used in grant writing, publications and manuscripts), as well as overall career advice relevant to advancing as a medical school faculty member.  Successful development of junior faculty will help strengthen the department and prepare it for the next generation of Pathologists and researchers.  The department will provide a strong mentoring program for junior faculty.  A career mentor will be assigned to serve as a general career mentor. Others within or outside of the department may also to serve as additional project mentors.

Purpose

The Faculty Development program will provide a mechanism to assist and propel junior through a smooth career, promoting the advancement and retention of new faculty into our next generation of academic physician and researcher leaders. This program is based on the School of Medicine's Faculty Mentoring Handbook.

Goals

The overall goal of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Development Program is to develop healthy, successful individuals, guiding them on career paths utilizing their strongest assets.  To that end, we strive to establish, develop, and facilitate positive, enduring, and mutually beneficial mentoring relationships, which allow Mentees to plan, learn and grow, and which renew and reward mentors through the experience of encouraging, motivating, and inspiring others. The objectives of the mentoring program are to assist junior faculty in developing the following critical skills:

• Managing a productive academic career in medicine or research, or both:
• In support of their own academic career needs and desires, while
• In support of the institutions missions and goals.
• Understanding the formal (and informal/implicit) values, rules and operating procedures in academic medicine.
• Understanding criteria for advancement, and
• Understanding how the merit and promotion system works
• Developing and sustaining a network of professional colleagues.
• Knowing where to go for  advice, help and training

To participate in the mentoring program contact Diane Persons, MD, Chair, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Professional Development Committee, or Robert Klein, PhD,  Associate Dean for the Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs.

Department Mentoring Program

• New faculty recruits will be asked to complete the Mentee Application Form and participate in the department program.  We encourage our newest members to visit the On-Boarding New Faculty Instructions before arriving on campus for work.
• As members of the department develop and are able to serve as mentors, they will be asked by the chair to complete the Mentor Application Form.

NOTE: Forms will be submitted to the Chair of the Department Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Development Program. The purpose of the Mentee and Mentor Application forms is to help assist with the match and help shape the relationship in the initial meeting between mentor and mentee.

• The members of the FDP will review the information on the application forms and recommend a career mentor in the Department with a mentee based as closely as possible on the needs of the mentee. If deemed applicable, mentor(s) from another department may also be recommended.
• The appointed mentor will email an invitation to the mentee offering mentorship. The mentee will acknowledge or accept the invitation, confirming their participation in the program.
• After 6 months of the initial meeting, mentee completes the 6-Month Trial Tool.
• The mentee and mentor will discuss the 6-month trial evaluation together understanding:
• that the career mentor is not the “end all” to their mentee;
• that the match is based on needs and is not a popularity contest; and
• it is to be expected that some mentor-mentee matches may need to be reassigned.
• At this point:
• the mentor-mentee pair may decide additional support mentors are needed to help meet the needs of the mentee; or
• a different relationship can be defined or the mentee can be re-matched; or
• this mentor-mentee relationship will continue.
• Mentors and mentees are encouraged to follow the SOM’s Faculty Mentoring Program
• Meetings will be scheduled by the mentee. To begin, a frequency of at least meeting quarterly is highly recommended.
• Mentees and mentors will determine together at the first meeting:
• the recordkeeping tools they wish to use as documents which will reflect the progress made over time, both the mentees growth as a junior member of the faculty and the mentors success in working with the junior member;
• the items, documents, tools or forms each need to bring to meetings;
• the frequency the mentee should bring their updated P&T formatted CV ( revised form ) to these meetings. At minimum, the CV should be updated every 6 months.

Getting Off to a Good Start with Mentoring

• Styles of Mentoring
• Benefits of Mentoring
• Mentoring Outcomes
• Mentoring Lifecycle

   

Mentor Tools & Info

• Tips and Characteristics for Mentors
• Top 13 List for Mentoring Post Docs and Junior Faculty
• Annual Mentoring Evaluation Form – Evaluates Mentee

 

Mentee Tools & Info

• Tips & Characteristics for Mentees
• Individual Development Plan (IDP) Form
• 1st Meeting Agenda
  • Guidelines for mentor / mentee conversations
• Meeting Agenda
• Meeting Worksheet
• Quarterly or Semi-Annual Evaluation Form
• Annual Mentoring Evaluation Form – Evaluates Mentor
• Mentoring Program Evaluation Form
• Mentee's Needs Assessment Form

 

Department Promotion & Tenure Expectations                       

The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine recognizes that junior faculty need overall career advice relevant to advancing as a medical school faculty member.  Part of the tasks of the career mentor are to help the junior faculty member navigate the responsibilities required for promotion and tenure.  We have tried to clarify P&T expectations and guidelines at the department level based upon clinical and basic science service which are congruent with the School of Medicine's. The School of Medicine's Mentoring Program Directory has new links to help you through the process.

Faculty Development Committee

The Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine will assign a senior faculty member to serve as Chair of the Faculty Development Program (CFDP).  The CFDP will appoint faculty members (with the approval of the Chair of the Department) to the Faculty Development Program Committee and will serve as Chair the Faculty Development Committee (FDC)

Diane Persons, MD, Professor, Director, Cytogenetics Laboratory, Director, Residency Program - Chair of the Faculty Development Program

Michael J. Soares, PhD , Director, Division of Cancer and Developmental Biology
University Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair, Research

Mark T. Cunningham, MD, Associate Professor, Director, Hematology and Flow Cytometry

Fariba Behbod, PharmD, PhD, Assistant Professor

Rashna Madan, MD, Assistant Professor, Director, Post-Sophomore Fellowship Program

Marty McLaughlin, Associate Director, Office of Professional Development and Faculty Affairs, SOM

Duties of the Faculty Development Committee

1. Establish and revise Program goals and objectives
2. Develop and revise format of Mentoring Program
3. Match mentee with mentor and monitor mentoring activities
4. Oversee ongoing program and mentor/mentee pairs
5. Evaluate and improve Program at regular intervals

Launched: 2.4.2010

Updated: 10.15.2011