OTHER FACULTY TRAINING

STFM ASCEND Mentorship Program

The STFM ASCEND Mentorship Program pairs early-career faculty with mentors to help guide them on a pathway to success in academic medicine. The focus is on addressing barriers for career advancement, giving tips on overcoming those barriers, and helping guide faculty toward careers that are rewarding and fulfilling. ASCEND is an acronym for "Advancing Success in Careers through Education, Networking, and Development."Mentees are paired with mentors who receive training on the unique challenges in academic family medicine. The program attracts a culturally diverse group of faculty mentors who are dedicated to making things better for the upcoming generation.Unique benefits of the program include:

Mentees are paired with mentors with similar academic backgrounds whenever possible.
Mentees develop a network of early career and late career faculty to call on who understand their unique needs.
Mentees are encouraged but not required to work on a scholarly product with their mentors.
Mentees and mentors work together to set specific career goals.
Mentors are trained in addressing oppression, racism, and alienation.
Mosaic Mentoring: Mentors make themselves available to mentees they are not assigned to if they can help them with a specific career need.

How to Apply

Applications are currently closed to join the ASCEND Mentorship as either a mentor or mentee. Applications for mentors and mentees open soon.When applications open, you'll need to submit the following to apply:

The ASCEND Mentorship Program Mentee Application (available when the application window is open)
Letter of support from your department chair or program director (upload with your application)
The Mentor Application (available when the application window is open)

Email your questions about the program to Jenni Minor.

ASCEND Mentorship Program Faculty

Brittany Houston, PsyD

Program Faculty Lead

Hernan Barenboim, PhD

Work Group Co-Lead

Janice Benson, MD

Mentor Liaison

Matthew B. Mackwood, MD, MPH

Mentee Liaison

Expectations and Criteria for Mentees

Criteria for STFM ASCEND Mentees

Criteria to become a mentee in the ASCEND Mentorship Program includes faculty members who are currently:

Experiencing setbacks, roadblocks, or barriers in their career advancement
In years 1–5 in their position in academic medicine
A member of STFM

Expectations for ASCEND Mentees

All Early-Career Mentorship Program mentees will be expected to:

Participate in monthly virtual meetings with their mentor
Set professional goals with their mentor
Complete a portfolio as a record of tasks discussed with their mentor (ex. curriculum development, beginning of an article, presentation, self-care plan, career development plan, etc.)
Attend 6 virtual meetings with a community of mentees and mentors over the course of a year

Expectations and Criteria for Mentors

Criteria for STFM ASCEND Mentors

Criteria to become a mentor in the ASCEND Mentorship Program includes faculty members who are currently:

Able to prioritize time for the mentor-mentee relationship
Mid- or late-career position in academic medicine
A current member of STFM

Expectations for Early Career Mentors

All ASCEND Mentorship Program mentors will be expected to:

Participate in monthly virtual meetings with their mentee
Set professional goals with their mentee
Complete a portfolio as a record of tasks discussed with their mentee (ex. curriculum development, beginning of an article, presentation, self-care plan, career development plan, etc.)

Testimonials From Program Participants

"The [Mentoring Program] provides an outstanding opportunity to explore challenging and complex topics within academic medicine in partnership with other mentors and mentees. This program meaningfully supports networking, facilitates career development, and provides broad support to all participants. At a personal level, I value the opportunity to learn from others, share perspectives, and contribute to the flourishing of others."

Stacy A. Ogbeide, PsyD, Mentor

"It's refreshing to see the excitement, feel the energy, and participate in the iterative process of growth and development. Setting aside dedicated time to assist a junior faculty in their professional development brings joy and insight to me on my professional journey. Sharing resources, techniques and building relationships is important for the growth of the mentees and for me. This helps keep my fire ignited, too."

Anonymous Mentor

"In addition to professional advice, [the Mentorship Program] provided a space in our mentorship relationships to also explore some of the personal and nuanced “whys” behind motives for professional advancement. It was a pleasant surprise to receive feedback from my mentor that encouraged me to still see the big picture while making room for life to happen. In a world and profession as fast paced as ours, it is challenging to recognize that professional growth can still happen when you pace yourself and enjoy the process."

Anonymous Mentee

"[The Mentorship Program] was a great experience for me. [It] helped me in decreasing some anxieties in my behavioral role working in family medicine. In the beginning, dealing with doctors was intimidating for me. … However, the process with [my mentor] and with you allowed me to believe in my strengths and feel more confident… Also, [the Mentorship Program] was an amazing support to understand how my Latinx ethnicity can add value to the complex relationships we have in academic medicine today. Finally, even though the experience was virtual I was able to develop great relationships with other early-career professionals that I think will stay for the rest of my professional life."

Anonymous Mentee

Resources for Mentors

The Mentorship Group has created a set of resources for academic programs or institutions who are developing mentoring programs for URM/BIPOC faculty. Although developed for URM/BIPOC mentorship, portions these resources may be beneficial in other mentorship relationships.

Facilitator's Guide & Overview

The facilitator's guide and recorded overview presentation provide guidelines for mentor/mentee recruitment and matching, as well as suggested best practices for training, check-ins, and mentor/mentee goal-setting.

Facilitator's Guide for Developing a Mentoring Program for Underrepresented Faculty (PDF)
A Guide for Academic Programs (Overview/Facilitator's Guide recording)

Mentor Trainings

The following webinar recordings contain training for mentors to understand and appropriately address issues of discrimination, racism and stereotyping that negatively impact early career faculty. They also include concrete suggestions on how faculty can find teaching resources, guidance for research projects and strategies for promotion and advancement that incorporate the unique needs of URM/BIPOC faculty.

The STFM Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Mentorship Workgroup

This STFM program originated as part of the Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Initiative. This initiative began creating programs and resources to meet the following aims of the initiative:

Goal: Create opportunities for developing meaningful relationships that lead to career advancement and leadership
Goal: Develop mentors who have the skills to help URM students, residents, and faculty improve resiliency, satisfaction, and retention

Original URM Initiative Workgroup

Kathryn Fraser, PhD—Work Group Leader and Program Founder, Behavioral Medicine Coordinator, Halifax Medical Center Family Medicine Residency, Daytona Beach, FL
Syeachia N. Dennis, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Jessica Guh, MD, Residency Site Director, Swedish Family Medicine Residency Cherry Hill
Cynthia Kim, LCSW-R, Associate Program Director, Director of Behavioral Science, Mid-Hudson Family Medicine Residency Program, Institute for Family Health
George W. Saba, PhD, Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, Permanente Medical Group Teaching Chair in Primary Care, Associate Program Director, Director of Behavioral Sciences, UCSF/SFGH Family Medicine Residency Program
Emily Walters, Staff Lead, Director of Education and Special Projects, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine

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Expectations and Criteria for Mentees

Criteria for STFM ASCEND Mentees

Expectations for ASCEND Mentees

Expectations and Criteria for Mentors

Criteria for STFM ASCEND Mentors

Expectations for Early Career Mentors

Testimonials From Program Participants

Resources for Mentors

Facilitator's Guide & Overview

Mentor Trainings

The STFM Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Mentorship Workgroup

Original URM Initiative Workgroup

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