Views of family medicine department Chairs about mentoring junior faculty

Abstract

Mentoring can be a key component contributing to the success of faculty. We investigated the attitudes of family medicine department Chairs toward mentoring, with emphasis on mentoring female and minority faculty. This qualitative inquiry used semi-structured interviews with 13 Chairs of US departments of family medicine. Although most Chairs felt that mentoring had value, a minority of our sample had formal mentoring programs. Multiple mentors were suggested for female and minority faculty to meet both their personal career and content needs. Availability of senior faculty is a key resource. Until more senior women and minority faculty are available, cross-gender and cross-ethnicity mentoring will need to be utilized.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Richelle J. Koopman

RICHELLE J. KOOPMAN, MD, MS joined the Family Medicine faculty at Medical University of South Carolina in 2001, and completed a Faculty Development Fellowship and Masters Degree in Clinical Research. Her interests include type 2 diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, and the primary care process of care.

C. Carolyn Thiedke

C. CAROLYN THIEDKE, MD, received her doctorate from the Medical University of South Carolina and completed her Family Medicine residency at the same institution. She was in private family practice for ten years before returning to the faculty at MUSC. Her interests include women's health, children's health, doctor–patient communication, and practice mangement.