The Mentoring Program is one of the benefits available to ACRA members. A list of voluntary ACRA health professionals and academics has been compiled who are agreeable to act as mentors for our ACRA members.
There are three main areas the ACRA Mentoring Program is designed to assist:
1. Professional and personal development and growth
2. Improved clinical, leadership, management, and or research capabilities
3. Career development
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a professional relationship where mentee and mentor are matched to share professional and personal skills and experiences as well as enhance career development. Mentors provide guidance and counsel to less experienced health professionals to assist in them in developing skills to transition to more effective health professionals.
Typically, it is a one-to-one relationship between a more experienced and less experienced individual. It is based upon encouragement, constructive comments, openness, mutual trust, respect and a willingness to learn and share.
Mentoring is not the same as ‘coaching’. Coaching assists in the individual performing the tasks of the job. Mentoring assists the individual make the transition to self-development and the ability to perform and to achieve goals beyond the present situation.
Why a mentoring program?
Mentoring is an effective professional development strategy, which can contribute significantly to clinical, management and or research capability and career development. Mentoring is valuable for all health professionals. It is appropriate in fostering the career development of ACRA members, who in the past may have had limited access to formal academic or development programs and networking opportunities.
You may call on a mentor to:
- seek expert advice and assistance regarding research or clinical management
- seek guidance to submit your work for consideration at a national or state education event or conference
- undertake a quality improvement activity in your service
- receive guidance and support whilst undertaking your course, degree, Masters or PhD in the area of Cardiac Rehabilitation or Chronic Disease Management. This is not meant to replace a formal higher degree supervision arrangement, but to complement such an arrangement.
- seek expert advice and assistance to plan, implement and evaluate a new initiative in your service, including assistance in identifying an appropriate evidence base for such an initiative
- assist in formulating a non-evaluation related research question and design
- assist you in transitioning from a clinical to a management role
Structured mentoring programs can offer the following benefits to mentees and mentors.
Mentee
- increase skills and knowledge
- increased awareness of emerging trends and directions in cardiovascular health and research
- supportive environment in which successes and failures can be evaluated
- powerful learning tool to acquire competencies and professional experience
- networking opportunities empowerment.
Mentor
- opportunities to test new ideas
- renewed enthusiasm for their role as an experienced health professional/researcher
- satisfaction from contributing to the mentee’s development
- opportunities to reflect upon and articulate their role
- improved ability to share experience and knowledge
Ready to find out more?
Join the ACRA mentoring program today