Table 1. Stakeholder-Centered Actions to Close Mentorship Gaps .
Mentorship gap |
Key stakeholders |
Actions |
Self-actualization |
- Human Resources - Faculty Affairs and Development - Deans and health system leaders - Extramural and national organizations |
- Provide ongoing funding for outside behavioral health professionals to provide faculty mentorship, training in cultural humility, and support for racially or ethnically concordant clinicians. 18 - Pay for and provide gym membership and personal trainers for all interested faculty. - Fund cultural and spiritual wellness spaces for faculty along with a spiritual mentor or chaplain for faculty support beyond hospital- or patient-focused services. - Promote salary equity as essential to the mission of the institution and have a continued review process for faculty salary analyses, with leadership directing actions toward departments with salary disparities to narrow the gap. 40 - Dedicate financial resources such as a financial advisor for financial planning, mentorship, and wealth building advice beyond that of retirement planning. 18, 40 - Integrate a culture of promoting well-being by providing opt-out opportunities to financially support URiM faculty time in accessing national conferences, career coaches, and extramural resources focused on cultivating wellness and self-care. 52 |
Family and community responsibilities |
- Human Resources - Faculty Affairs and Development |
- Pay for and provide a personal mentor to provide mentorship on how to access flexible work hours and when to use special leave. Further develop, fund, and expand employer-sponsored childcare programs. 53 - Pay for and provide a home care mentor who will give advice on meeting meal preparation needs for a busy family, childcare and parenting demands, housekeeping and home maintenance needs, and transportation demands such as car repairs. - Include mentorship on how to align and stack clinical and academic responsibilities so that time is created or reserved to address health care needs that arise for family and extended family. 54 - Form faculty-focused resource groups that can speak to cultural and background differences of families and provide standardized expectations of activity engagement and the protected nonclinical time necessary to effectively engage in those activities. 55, 56, 57 |
Professional development |
- Faculty Affairs and Development - Extramural and national organizations - Office of Graduate Medical Education - Department chairs, deans, and health system leaders |
- Ensure equitable experiences for those who are underrepresented and make sure that they receive necessary support for advancement and career success through institutional and national programs. 50, 51 - Provide resources and assume responsibility for faculty success and advancement, including making sure that underrepresented faculty have access to needed resources and equitable experiences for promotion. - Require them to know the literature regarding how to promote the success of underrepresented faculty. 18, 58, 59 |
Abbreviation: URiM, underrepresented in medicine