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Training Better Mentors:
Using Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills and Structured Tools to Enhance Mentorship Skills
Authors: Jesse Markman, MD, MBA & Heidi Combs, MD, MS
Academic faculty know the importance of mentoring, but most receive limited or no training to how to approach mentorship or what skills to use with their mentees. Effective mentor training programs should be longitudinal in nature, agnostic to areas of academic focus (i.e. not just for careers focused on research or education), focused, at their core, on interpersonal effectiveness skills, and incorporate peer mentoring as a component of teaching.
Methods: A six-month, longitudinal Mentor Development Program, focused on training interpersonal effectiveness skills within a mentoring framework, was developed to incorporate didactic teaching, experience-based learning, and peer mentorship in the training of mid and late-career mentors at an academic medical center.
Results: Following course completion, participants showed statistically significant improvement in their confidence in their mentorship skills overall, their knowledge of the logistics of mentorship, comfort in giving mentees feedback, helping mentees manage conflict, helping mentees navigate change, and clarity on their own mentoring philosophy.
Read program report and implementation guide here
For complete packet of course material, contact Dr. Markman at jesse.markman@va.gov.
