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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.

Understand Mentoring Needs

Mentorship Supports Career and Life Success

Mentorship can promote career and life success for those in the clinical/translational research workforce.

Graphic. Mentoring promotes success by offering space to: Explore & identify your personal & professional needs. Develop your career & those of others. Learn & practice effective skills.

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Mentoring Needs Evolve Throughout Your Career

Mentorship is critical at every career level, and mentoring needs and expectations evolve over time. The skills and perspectives that you learn early in your career continue to serve you throughout each later stage.

Learn more about the role mentoring can play at each stage of your career below

Early Career – Primarily a mentee

Mentoring relationships offer space to:

Explore and identify your personal and professional needs.
  • Define your goals, values, interests, and personal definition of success
  • Understand the need for a mentoring network
  • Recognize the value you can bring to a mentoring relationship
Learn and practice effective skills
  • Understand your responsibilities within a mentoring relationship
  • Self-assess, seek feedback, and build skills in:
    • Communication (publications, presentations, posters, feedback, negotiation, networking etc.)
    • Funding your research and grant writing
    • Teaching
    • Technical skills in your research area
    • Time management
    • Research integrity
    • Mentoring others
    • Working on a diverse team
Develop your career and those of others
  • Build your network and seek out new connections
  • Understand metrics of professional success
  • Understand your institutional landscape and leverage available resources and opportunities
  • Know where to turn for support when challenges arise
  • Practice job search and interviewing skills
  • Build your reputation
  • Establish independence

Mid-Career – Both a mentee and a mentor

Mentoring relationships offer space to:

Explore and identify your personal and professional needs
  • Reassess your goals, interests, and personal definition of success
  • Reassess your mentoring network
  • Redefine the value that you can bring to a mentoring relationship
Learn and practice effective skills
  • Hone leadership and mentoring skills to run a lab and lead a diverse team
  • Learn and practice how to: 
    • Write research grants 
    • Review grants, publications, and posters, and prepare your mentees for conferences
    • Manage finances and identify talent
    • Create a vision for institutional programs
    • Manage your time and delegate
    • Determine the feedback your mentees need and how to best deliver it
Develop your career and those of others
  • Continue to build your mentoring network
  • Understand career paths in c/t research
  • Diversify your professional portfolio
  • Advocate for your mentees and foster your mentees’ networks

Late Career – Primarily a mentor

Mentoring relationships offer space to:

Explore and identify your personal and professional needs
  • Reassess your goals, interests, and personal definition of success 
  • Redefine the value you can bring to a mentoring relationship  
  • Find fulfillment and firm your legacy 
Learn and practice effective skills
  • Refine your administrative skills
  • Transition to retirement (financial planning)  
Develop your career and those of others
  • Grow your network (especially of mentees) 
  • Advocate for those in your network
  • Promote yourself as a resource
  • Mentor established professionals
  • Promote philanthropy for the institution

 

Download Evolving Mentoring Needs PDF

 

You Can Maximize Your Mentoring Relationships

In the video below, Frederick Schoen, MD, PhD, professor of pathology and health sciences and technology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and founding director of Career Catalyst, discusses:

  • Why mentorship is important for career and life success
  • How mentoring needs and expectations change over time
  • Strategies you can use to become an empowered mentee