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Mentorship in Clinical and Translational Research

A guide to empower mentees and mentors in maximizing their mentoring relationships and growing their networks.

Explore Our Framework: Characteristics and Actions that Foster Effective Mentee-Mentor Relationships

The literature offers several definitions and frameworks of qualities, attributes, and actions that lead to successful mentoring relationships. After analyzing these frameworks and reflecting on our own experience of developing curriculum, courses, and longitudinal programs on mentorship, we consolidated the core ideas and created a comprehensive list of key characteristics and actions that foster effective mentee-mentor relationships [PDF]. For each characteristic or action, we explain how strong mentors and empowered mentees demonstrate them in practice.

Mentees, mentors, and mentoring program leaders can use this framework for self-assessment, skill and infrastructure building, advocacy, and more. Explore the lists below for examples of how to leverage this framework.

Mentees, use this framework to:
  • Identify your mentoring needs. 
  • Self-assess your strengths and areas in need of support from mentoring relationships. 
  • Recognize your responsibilities within a mentoring relationship. 
  • Set goals and milestones for your mentoring relationships.
  • Advocate for the support that you need. 
  • Build structure for peer mentoring groups.
Mentors and mentoring program leaders, use this framework to:
  • Recognize the value you bring to a mentoring relationship.
  • Self-assess your strengths and areas in need of support within mentoring relationships. 
  • Recognize your responsibilities within a mentoring relationship. 
  • Reflect on the principles and write your mentoring philosophy. 
  • Identify goals and objectives and build infrastructure for your mentoring program. 
  • Create assessments. 

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Navigate through the list of characteristics and actions to learn what they look like in practice. The hyperlinks in the tables below connect to relevant information and exercises throughout this website.

Know themselves
Mentors Mentees
  • Recognize the value that they can bring to a mentoring relationship.
  • Define what type of expertise their mentee needs (e.g. scientific/ technical, grant or manuscript writing, navigating institutional culture, career advancement etc.).
  • Tailor their mentoring strategy to meet the needs of their mentee(s).
  • Understand the value of a mentoring network.
Are clear about expectations
Mentors Mentees
  • Establish ground rules for communication (e.g. professionalism, vulnerability, transparency regarding confidentiality).
  • Have a formal discussion about expectations at the beginning of the relationship.
  • Use tools to document the agreement.
  • Periodically review the expectations to ensure that they are being met.
  • Agree and adhere to a regular meeting schedule.
  • Are accessible, approachable, and clear on boundaries (e.g. discuss communication styles and preferences and have expectations for communication outside of meeting times).
  • Set clear expectations regarding research-related matters (e.g. space, time, access to resources, authorship). 
  • Establish ground rules for communication (e.g. professionalism, vulnerability, transparency regarding confidentiality). 
  • Contribute to a shared expectation agreement and ensure that expectations are aligned with values and short and long-term goals.
  • Periodically review the expectations to ensure that they are being met.
  • Determine and adhere to a regular meeting time with their mentors.
  • Are accessible, approachable, and clear on boundaries (e.g. discuss communication styles and preferences and have expectations for communication outside of meeting times). 
  • Agree to clear expectations regarding research-related matters (e.g. space, time, access to resources, authorship).
Are aware of and responsive to differences
Mentors Mentees
  • Recognize/address unconscious biases and prejudices they bring to the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Practice strategies to engage effectively with mentees whose personal background is different from their own (age, race, gender, class, region, culture, religion, family composition etc.).
  • Foster a sense of belonging by using inclusive language that respects differences.
  • Practice anti-racism and allyship.
  • Recognize and address issues of equity and inclusion in the mentoring relationship, and if challenges arise, know how and where to leverage resources for support. 
  • Recognize/address unconscious biases and prejudices they bring to the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Practice strategies to engage effectively with mentors whose personal background is different from their own (age, race, gender, class, region, culture, religion, family composition etc.).
  • Foster a sense of belonging by using inclusive language that respects differences.
  • Practice anti-racism and allyship.
  • Recognize and address issues of equity and inclusion in the mentoring relationship, and if challenges arise, know how and where to leverage resources for support.
Are engaged with setting mentees’ personal and professional milestones
Mentors Mentees
Explore professional development opportunities
Mentors Mentees
  • Help their mentees get to know the institutional culture and landscape. 
    • Connect their mentees to individuals, groups, and offices that can support their development. 
  • Help their mentees understand promotion metrics.
  • Suggest courses, books, articles, technology, and other resources for mentee development.
  • Assess what new skills and knowledge they need to gain.
  • Identify development opportunities and leverage connections and resources to learn new skills. 
  • Understand how to prepare for professional advancement (e.g. promotions). 
Provide and advocate for feedback
Provide and advocate for feedback
Mentors Mentees
  • Determine what type of feedback their mentees need and how to best deliver it (e.g. Types: formal, informal, encouragement, coaching, evaluation etc. Format for delivery: written, oral).
  • Provide timely feedback.
  • Are supportive and encouraging. 
  • Practice active listening.
  • Periodically discuss if established expectations are being met.
  • Recognize the type of feedback that they need and know how to ask for it.
  • Are responsive and willing to discuss feedback that they receive.
  • Periodically discuss if established expectations are being met. 
Build effective mentoring networks
Build effective mentoring networks
Mentors Mentees
  • Evaluate their current mentoring network and identify gaps.
  • Seek out new mentors who can fill these gaps.
  • Understand the value of peer mentorship and dedicate time to connecting with and learning from peers.
Practice advocacy
Practice advocacy
Mentors Mentees
  • As opportunities arise, advocate for their mentees to participate or lead.
  • Coach their mentees in how to have conversations with new connections. 
  • Respect their mentees’ contributions and celebrate their successes. 
  • Acknowledge the challenges faced by historically underrepresented groups in the workforce and advocate to increase inclusion and equity. 
Foster productivity and resiliency
Foster productivity and resiliency
Mentors Mentees
  • Coach their mentees on how to increase personal resilience in the face of professional challenges.
  • Empower their mentees to seek out resources for support.  
  • Discuss work-life integration and how to align priorities based on values. 
  • Identify and reflect upon their current time-management strategies and challenges.
  • Identify which activities are most consistent with their professional goals and use this information to discuss where they should prioritize spending time to maximize the likelihood of professional success.
  • Factor personal interests and responsibilities into their time management strategies.
  • Identify strategies to increase personal resilience in the face of professional challenges.
Support mentees’ independence
Support mentees’ independence
Mentors Mentees
  • Suggest that their mentees attend and present at important conferences.
  • Guide their mentees through the publication process (e.g. choosing a journal, strategies for writing and submitting).
  • Role model responsible conduct of research.
  • Provide guidance and support as mentees begin to serve as mentors for others.
  • Guide discussions on career planning and support mentees through career transitions.
  • Identify professional societies and conferences in their field (or the field that they would like to enter) and familiarize themselves with them.
  • Recognize scientific journals and their respective impact factor that are relevant to their work.
  • Discuss ways to use their network to foster recognition.
  • Seek feedback and input from mentors as they prepare for the next phase of their career. 

Characteristics and Actions that Foster Effective Mentee-Mentor Relationships (PDF) 

References

The following references were used in the development of this page.

Berk, R., Berg, J., Mortimer, R., Walton-Moss, B., & Yeo, T. (2005). Measuring the Effectiveness of Faculty Mentoring Relationships. Academic Medicine, 80(1), 66–71.

Bredella, M. A., Alvarez, C., O’Shaughnessy, S. A., Lavigne, S. D., Brink, J. A., & Thrall, J. H. (2021). Radiology Mentoring Program for Early Career Faculty—Implementation and Outcomes. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 18(3), 451–456. 

Dilmore, T. C., Rubio, D. M., Cohen, E., Seltzer, D., Switzer, G. E., Bryce, C., Primack, B., Fine, M. J., & Kapoor, W. N. (2010). Psychometric Properties of the Mentor Role Instrument when Used in an Academic Medicine Setting. Clinical and Translational Science, 3(3), 104–108.

Fleming, M., House, S., Hanson, V. S., Yu, L., Garbutt, J., McGee, R., Kroenke, K., Abedin, Z., & Rubio, D. M. (2013). The Mentoring Competency Assessment: Validation of a New Instrument to Evaluate Skills of Research Mentors. Academic Medicine, 88(7), 1002–1008. 

Holliday, Emma B., MD, Jagsi, Reshma, MD, DPhil, Thomas, Charles R., MD, Wilson, Lynn D., MD, MPH, & Fuller, Clifton D., MD, PhD. (2014). Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Results From the Radiation Oncology Academic Development and Mentorship Assessment Project (ROADMAP). International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 88(1), 18–24. 

Huskins, W. C., Silet, K., Weber-Main, A. M., Begg, M. D., Fowler, Jr, Vance G., Hamilton, J., & Fleming, M. (2011). Identifying and Aligning Expectations in a Mentoring Relationship. Clinical and Translational Science, 4(6), 439–447. 

Meagher, E., Taylor, L., Probsfield, J., & Fleming, M. (2011). Evaluating Research Mentors Working in the Area of Clinical Translational Science: A Review of the Literature. Clinical and Translational Science, 4(5), 353–358. 

Pfund, C., Byars-Winston, A., Branchaw, J., Hurtado, S., & Eagan, K. (2016). Defining Attributes and Metrics of Effective Research Mentoring Relationships. AIDS and Behavior, 20(Suppl 2), 238–248. 

Ripley, E., Markowitz, M., Nichols-Casebolt, A., Williams, L., & Macrina, F. (2012). Training NIH K Award Recipients: The Role of the Mentor. Clinical and Translational Science, 5(5), 386–393. 

Sambunjak, D., Straus, S. E., & Marusic, A. (2010). A Systematic Review of Qualitative Research on the Meaning and Characteristics of Mentoring in Academic Medicine. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(1), 72–78. 

Schaefer, M., Pander, T., Pinilla, S., Fischer, M. R., von der Borch, P., & Dimitriadis, K. (2015). The Munich-Evaluation-of-Mentoring-Questionnaire (MEMeQ) – A Novel Instrument for Evaluating Proteges’ Satisfaction with Mentoring Relationships in Medical Education. BMC Medical Education, 15(1), 201–201. 

St-Onge, C., Young, M., & Varpio, L. (2019). Development and Validation of a Health Profession Education-Focused Scholarly Mentorship Assessment Tool. Perspectives on Medical Education, 8(1), 43–46. 

Thorndyke, L. E., Gusic, M. E., & Milner, R. J. (2008). Functional Mentoring: A Practical Approach with Multilevel Outcomes. The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 28(3), 157–164. 

Yukawa, M., Gansky, S. A., O’Sullivan, P., Teherani, A., & Feldman, M. D. (2020). A New Mentor Evaluation Tool: Evidence of Validity. PloS One, 15(6), e0234345–e0234345.