Policies, Activities, and Structures Supporting Research Mentoring

Abstract

Purpose To document the frequency of policies and activities in support of mentoring practices at institutions receiving a U.S. National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). Method The study consisted of a 69-item survey with questions about the inclusion (formal or informal) of policies, programs/activities and structures supporting mentoring within CTSA-sponsored research (i.e., KL2 programs) and, more broadly, in the CTSA’s home institution. The survey, conducted from November 2010 through January 2011, was sent to the 55 institutions awarded a CTSA at the time of the survey. Follow-up phone interviews were conducted to clarify responses as needed. Results Fifty-one of 55 (92%) institutions completed the survey for institutional programs and 53 of 55 (96%) for KL2 programs. Responses regarding policies and activities involving mentor criteria, mentor–mentee relationship, incentives, and evaluative mechanisms revealed considerable variability between KL2 and institutional programs in some areas, such as having mentor qualification criteria and processes to evaluate mentors The survey also identified areas, such as training and women and minority mentoring programs, where there was frequent sharing of activities between the institutional and KL2 programs. Conclusions KL2 programs and institutional programs tend to have different preferences for policies versus activities to optimize qualification of mentors, the mentor–mentee relationship, incentives and evaluation mechanisms. Frequently, these elements are informal. Individuals in charge of implementing and maintaining mentoring initiatives can use the results of the study to consider their current mentoring policies, structures, and activities by comparing them to national patterns within CTSA institutions.

Breaking Down the Siloes: Developing Effective Multidisciplinary HIV Research Teams

“…Several examples are presented by infrastructure awards from NIH that support translational and multidisciplinary researchers, in HIV and other disciplines. The Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) (18) has successfully demonstrated the ability of these capacity building initiatives to enhance translational research efforts in multiple fields and build competencies. Similar but specific to HIV, the Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) program has enabled both discipline specific efforts within cores as well as cross-cutting initiatives to support development of HIV researchers and HIV research infrastructure (21).…”

Mentor Training within Academic Health Centers with Clinical and Translational Science Awards

“…9,10,11,12,13 For instance, Keyser et al, highlight the “top-down” approach to instilling effective mentorship practices at AHCs, by outlining key mentoring domains (such as fostering strong mentor-mentee relations, and optimizing the qualification of mentors) that may be strengthened through policies and activities at the institutional level, or by administrative bodies such as KL2 programs. 9 One way in which these mentorship domains may be developed and/or strengthened is via the implementation of mentor training systems.…”

Sex Differences in Workplace Satisfaction and Engagement of Academic Pathologists: Opportunities to Enhance Faculty Diversity

“…According to the FFES, men reported being more neutral on the importance of formal mentorship and disagreed more often that it was important. A recent survey 17 of academic health centers with clinical translational science awards showed that there was considerable variability in mentorship programs across institutions, including mentor criteria, mentor-mentee relationship, incentives, and evaluative mechanisms. There are only a few published reports with quantitative outcomes measuring mentoring programs; those studies demonstrate the value of these programs.…”