NEWS FROM OUR COLLEAGUES | Volume 20 | Winter 2005

Center for Faculty Development Programs, Mentorship Guidance for Mentors

The Center for Faculty Development (CFD) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has a committed interest in helping new faculty adjust to their roles as members of both the Harvard Medical School and the BIDMC communities. The Director of the CFD is Rosemary B. Duda, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Surgery. The CFD has three subcommittees that facilitate identifying the needs and interests of the faculty and include the Subcommittee for Women, Subcommittee for Underrepresented Minorities and the Ph.D. Subcommittee.

The CFD has sponsored many programs and seminars including lectures on the HMS promotion process, malpractice, academic employment, NIH grant process, scientific writing, leadership courses for junior faculty, courses for junior laboratory investigators and mentorship courses. CFD has also sponsored visiting professors who have addressed issues including the moral and legal definition of an underrepresented minority, career advancement of women, and differences in gender perceptions and interactions. CFD has also been instrumental in obtaining access to child care support for faculty in urgent situations.

One of the major priorities of faculty development is the CFD Mentorship Program. This is a match program where junior faculty members are able to request a mentor based on their specific criteria. Mentors are then selected from a list of established BIDMC faculty who have volunteered to serve as mentors. Several members of the match program have subsequently been promoted in academic rank, published papers or were awarded a competitive grant as a result of this program.

The first Mentorship Course for mentors was offered in March 2004 in conjunction with the Office of Faculty Development at Children’s Hospital Boston (CHB). In November 2004, a third partner was added to the course development, the Office of Women’s Careers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH).

How to Become an Effective Mentor: A Faculty Development Course on Mentorship was held on November 15, 2004 at Countway Library. Topics included basic information to assist the mentor including practical tips, resources available at HMS and the affiliated institutions; challenges to mentorship including ethics, race and gender differences, personal conflict and harassment; assessment of the mentorship process; and personal accounts and perspectives of mentorship. The course was attended by faculty from BIDMC, CHB and BWH.

Speakers included: Joan Y. Reede, MD, MPH, MS, Dean of the Office for Diversity and Community Partnership; Mary Clark, PhD former Associate Dean, HMS Office of Faculty Affairs; Russell Phillips, MD, Chief, Division of General Medicine, BIDMC; Linda Wilcox, MA, Ombudsperson; Sharon Muret-Wagstaff, PhD, MPA, CHB Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, CHB; Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology, CHB; Radhika A. Ramanan, MD, MPH, Instructor of Medicine, BIDMC; Leon Goldman, MD Chief Compliance Officer, Caregroup, Associate Professor of Surgery, BIDMC; Augustus A, White, III, MD, PhD Ellen and Melvin Gordon Professor of Medical Education and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, BIDMC; Kaarkuzhali Babu Krisnamurthy, MD Assistant Professor of Neurology, BIDMC; Sandra Gould, MS, Co-Director, Partners Office of Women’s Careers, BWH; Steven Seltzer, MD, Chair, Dept of Radiology, Professor of Radiology, BWH; S. Jean Emans, MD, Director of the Office of Faculty Development, Professor of Pediatrics, CHB; and Rosemary B. Duda, MD, MPH, Director, Center for Faculty Development, Associate Professor of Surgery, BIDMC. Comments from the course participants were enthusiastic and positive. It is anticipated that a mentorship course will be offered on an annual basis.

By Rosemary B. Duda, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School