Mentoring Across Professions: Lessons Learned From a National Interprofessional Mentoring Program

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Six
  In Roundtable Session: From Local to National: Redesigning Professional Mentoring to Promote Equity, Development, and Community (Table 8)

Abstract

In 2017 the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative (AIHC) piloted a mentoring program to support diverse faculty working in interprofessional practice and education (IPE). The National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education had received repeated inquiries for advice about issues related to IPE leadership, curriculum design, teaching methods, classroom-clinical experiences, and evaluation. Because the National Center was not equipped to respond to each request, AIHC stepped in to fill the need. They received applications from faculty representing 12 different health-related professions from all regions of the United States. Six mentors and mentees were selected for the pilot, and interprofessional pairs were matched based on fit between mentees’ expressed needs and mentors’ reported experience. Organizers held an orientation webinar, and opportunities were provided for participants to network through formal sessions at national and international interprofessional conferences that year. Pairs were encouraged to connect at least monthly, but the experience was otherwise unstructured.

When the pilot concluded after 6 months, evaluation survey responses indicated that all mentors and mentees met their goals for participating, at least to some degree. Mentees cited benefits such as connecting with peers outside their own institution and identifying useful resources. Mentors valued hearing other perspectives, networking, and sharing knowledge. Common suggestions for improvement were to provide more structure and additional resources. Eight participants from five unique pairs were also interviewed to capture deeper reflections. Interview participants represented education, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and sociology. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Five themes emerged: (1) Relationships are central to mentoring and require support to build. (2) Learning is a two-way street. While mentees seek affirmation and advice, mentors appreciate opportunities to learn through teaching. (3) Interprofessional education and practice is a new frontier. Both mentors and mentees are often charting their own course and need the support of a community. (4) Cross disciplinary work is messy and complex. A mentoring program needs structure but also needs flexibility. (5) Participants left with a strong commitment to build on this formative work and with solid ideas for a path forward.

The interprofessional mentoring pilot was a mutually beneficial, positive experience for participants, even when the mentor-mentee fit wasn’t perfect. It confirmed the need for mentoring to build a community that can help navigate the way for interprofessional leaders in roles where they are often the only faculty member at their own institution doing such work. There are many similarities between the participants in this national mentoring program and members of AERA’s Division I, who may also lack their own local professional network. Building a community that supports its members through national mentoring could enhance the work of members locally and create a stronger and more sustainable division within AERA. Lessons from AIHC’s experience, which is now entering its sixth year, could help Division I build a strong mentoring community.

Author

• Kelly S. Lockeman, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author