The role of mentorship in protege performance

The role of mentorship on protege performance is a matter of importance to academic, business, and governmental organizations. While the benefits of mentorship for proteges, mentors and their organizations are apparent, the extent to which proteges mimic their mentors' career choices and acquire their mentorship skills is unclear. Here, we investigate one aspect of mentor emulation by studying mentorship fecundity---the number of proteges a mentor trains---with data from the Mathematics Genealogy Project, which tracks the mentorship record of thousands of mathematicians over several centuries. We demonstrate that fecundity among academic mathematicians is correlated with other measures of academic success. We also find that the average fecundity of mentors remains stable over 60 years of recorded mentorship. We further uncover three significant correlations in mentorship fecundity. First, mentors with small mentorship fecundity train proteges that go on to have a 37% larger than expected mentorship fecundity. Second, in the first third of their career, mentors with large fecundity train proteges that go on to have a 29% larger than expected fecundity. Finally, in the last third of their career, mentors with large fecundity train proteges that go on to have a 31% smaller than expected fecundity.Comment: 23 pages double-spaced, 4 figure

A review of mentorship measurement tools

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. Objectives: To review mentorship measurement tools in various fields to inform nursing educators on selection, application, and developing of mentoring instruments. Design: A literature review informed by PRISMA 2009 guidelines. Data Sources: Six databases: CINHAL, Medline, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Business premier resource. Review Methods: Search terms and strategies used: mentor* N3 (behav* or skill? or role? or activit? or function* or relation*) and (scale or tool or instrument or questionnaire or inventory). The time limiter was set from January 1985 to June 2015. Extracted data were content of instruments, samples, psychometrics, theoretical framework, and utility. An integrative review method was used. Results: Twenty-eight papers linked to 22 scales were located, seven from business and industry, 11 from education, 3 from health science, and 1 focused on research mentoring. Mentorship measurement was pioneered by business with a universally accepted theoretical framework, i.e. career function and psychosocial function, and the trend of scale development is developing: from focusing on the positive side of mentorship shifting to negative mentoring experiences and challenges. Nursing educators mainly used instruments from business to assess mentorship among nursing teachers. In education and nursing, measurement has taken to a more specialised focus: researchers in different contexts have developed scales to measure different specific aspects of mentorship. Most tools show psychometric evidence of content homogeneity and construct validity but lack more comprehensive and advanced tests. Conclusion: Mentorship is widely used and conceptualised differently in different fields and is less mature in nursing than in business. Measurement of mentorship is heading to a more specialised and comprehensive process. Business and education provided measurement tools to nursing educators to assess mentorship among staff, but a robust instrument to measure nursing students' mentorship is needed

The Evolution of Mentorship Capacity Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Case Studies from Peru, Kenya, India, and Mozambique.

Following the Fogarty International Center-supported "Mentoring the Mentors" workshops in South America, Africa, and Asia, approaches and guidelines for mentorship at institutions within these low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts, appropriate for the respective regional resources and culture, were implemented. Through the presentation of case studies from these three geographic regions, this article illustrates the institutional mentorship infrastructure before the workshop and the identified gaps used to implement strategies to build mentorship capacity at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru), Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kenya), Saint John's Research Institute (India), and Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique). These case studies illustrate three findings: first, that mentorship programs in LMICs have made uneven progress, and institutions with existing programs have exhibited greater advancement to their mentoring capacity than institutions without formal programs before the workshops. Second, mentoring needs assessments help garner the support of institutional leadership and create local ownership. Third, developing a culture of mentorship that includes group mentoring activities at LMIC institutions can help overcome the shortage of trained mentors. Regardless of the stage of mentoring programs, LMIC institutions can work toward developing sustainable, culturally effective mentorship models that further the partnership of early career scientists and global health

Thankful for Mentorship

I have had more incredible opportunities than I could have imagined since coming to Linfield. I get to study two different disciplines, I studied abroad for a semester in Ireland and took a class in Italy and Greece during January Term. Professor Hillary Crane has had a major impact on my education and growth as a student and world citizen. She is my advisor and was my supervisor for a research project last summer

Challenges of mentorship

Mentorship is the fourteenth series of ‘Midwifery basics’ targeted at practising midwives. It aims to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on student learning and ultimately on women’s experience and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities. In this sixth article Charlotte Kenyon, Stephen Hogarth and Joyce Marshall consider some of the challenges to mentorship and possible solutions to these

Mentorship from the student perspective

Midwifery Basics: Mentorship 3 When undertaking a programme of pre-registration midwifery education, student midwives are working towards responsible and accountable practice at the point of registration. In order to facilitate this, mentors are required to support learning in a range of clinical settings and contribute to the development of the students ability to practice as a safe and competent midwife (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2008, 2011). Experiences of mentorship can influence how a student midwife's confidence and competence develops and may shape how they will subsequently practice once qualified (Hughes and Fraser, 2011; Licqurish and Seibold, 2008). Consequently, supportive and positive mentorship is essential to enhance student learning experiences in practice and to promote their personal and professional developmen

Brain Trust: Students for Students: VCU to RPS Mentorship Program

As a public, urban research institution, Virginia Commonwealth University embraces the importance of developing university-community partnerships that generate innovative solutions to societal challenges and prepare engaged citizens of tomorrow. The Students for Students: VCU to RPS Mentorship Program provides a model that will connect current VCU students to current Richmond Public Schools (RPS) students through a formal, multi-year mentorship. The ultimate goal of this program is to support and positively influence RPS students, while providing current VCU students with an opportunity to give back to the community while developing their mentorship skills. The mentoring relationship will seek to motivate RPS sophomores, juniors and seniors to improve school performance, graduate on time, and craft a post-high school path

Skills to facilitate learning in clinical practice

Midwifery Basics: Mentorship 2 Mentorship is the 14th series of 'Midwifery basics' targeted at practising midwives. The aim of these articles is to provide information to raise awareness of the impact of the work of midwives on women's experience, and encourage midwives to seek further information through a series of activities relating to the topic. In this second article Jayne Samples and Joyce Marshall consider some of the key issues that can affect student learning in clinical practice

The role and responsibilities of a midwifery mentor

Midwifery Basics: Mentorship 1 Mentorship of student midwives in clinical practice is an important part of the role of a qualified and experienced midwife (Steele 2009). The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008 p9) states ‘The role of the sign-off mentor and/or practice teacher is to make judgments about whether a student has achieved the required standards of proficiency for safe and effective practice for entry to the NMC register.’ However, mentorship is much more than this and can be considered as the process of giving support for personal and professional development. This can be provided in a range of ways, such as acting as a role model, teaching, encouraging, offering feedback and formally assessing the student midwife. Less formal definitions suggest that the mentor is a guide, supporter and advisor (Casey & Clark 2012). The mentoring process, the relationship between mentor and student midwife and the institutional environment within which the mentoring occurs can present a range of rewards and challenges for both mentor and studen

First-Year Library Mentorship Opportunities

The first-year experience at any university library sets the foundation for the future relationship between the new faculty member and the library as a whole. Not only is the librarian being acculturated to the organization, but he or she must decide if the library and university will provide a supportive environment for his or her career goals. In this probationary process, the tenured librarians evaluate their tenure-track colleagues’ professional progression and merit. Many libraries institute a formal first-year mentoring program in order to facilitate the immersion of new faculty members into the organizational culture of the library and university. There are excellent examples of flourishing mentorship programs in libraries, but one can also find examples of informal mentoring that aids in the success of tenure-track faculty. This article discusses the benefits and drawbacks of various forms of library mentorship and how one can make the most of being mentored in diverse university settings