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Mentoring has an important role to play in academic career development, but there are still a wide range of views, and assumptions, about what it means to mentor someone and what is involved.
The UCL Wellcome Trust PhD Programme for Clinicians mentoring scheme is a 'light touch' scheme with potential mentees contacting potential mentors and organising meetings/phone calls independently.
- Introduction
A good mentor empowers the mentee to take responsibility for their own career development. A mentor should be outside the mentee's direct line management to give perspective in times of significant professional and/or personal change.
- What Mentoring Isn't
- First and foremost mentoring is neither the day-by-day management of the mentee's decision-making or career, nor a substitute for training;
- Mentors do not do work on behalf of their mentees, nor do they take responsibility for what the mentee does;
- Nor is it a form of therapy. Where clinical issues arise, participants should refer to UCL Student Psychological Services if appropriate;
- Mentoring is not a one-sided relationship in which one party does all the giving and the other all the taking;
- It is not about instructing the mentee how to live their life.
- What is a Mentor?
A mentor can be a sounding board, a role model, a challenger and critical friend. Throughout the mentoring relationship, the mentee gets to test their assumptions and develop their decision-making processes. There is no rigid formula for mentoring as individual characters, situations and needs will lead to different approaches.
We advise mentors to consider carefully the role they intend to perform and encourage them to draw on their experience to help their mentees in their professional or personal development.
- A Mentor Will…
- Aim to meet their mentee twice per year;
- Listen;
- Support, encourage and challenge where appropriate;
- Provide a framework to judge actions and consequences;
- Share experiences where relevant;
- Signpost, to information and resources.
- How will matching work?
We will contact Fellows recruited through the UCL Wellcome Clinical PhD Programme who have come to the end of their fellowship with a list of available mentors with a short blurb about them and their interests.
We will contact Fellows recruited through the UCL Wellcome Clinical PhD Programme who have come to the end of their fellowship with a list of available mentors with a short blurb about them and their interests.
Fellows are invited to contact up to three potential mentors for an informal discussion on your goals for the mentoring relationship. Fellows will organise these meeting/phone calls on your own.
After these informal meetings Fellows will choose one mentor. The mentor has the right to decline the relationship.
What to look for in a mentor: personal connection; alignment and understanding of your goals.
- How long will the mentoring relationship last?
Your mentoring relationship will last two years and may continue past this point if both parties agree. Mentors and mentees should aim to meet twice per year.
- What ongoing support is available?
The scheme is light touch, but if you have any issues you should contact aco-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk