Survey of mentoring programs for KL2 scholars

Area of Science:

• Clinical and Translational Science
• Research Career Development
• Academic Medicine

Background:

• Effective mentoring is crucial for training new investigators in academic settings.
• Limited understanding exists regarding institutional support for mentoring practices.
• The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Consortium provides a framework for training future researchers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current state of mentoring practices for KL2 scholars within the CTSA Consortium.
• To identify variations and commonalities in institutional approaches to mentoring new investigators.
• To explore key components of effective mentoring relationships in translational research.

Main Methods:

• A national semistructured telephone interview survey was conducted.
• The survey included all 46 CTSA institutions funded through 2009.
• Interviews focused on mentor selection, expectation alignment, relationship assessment, and mentor training.

Main Results:

• Practices varied significantly across the 46 CTSA institutions.
• Few programs formally selected mentors (5) or used mentor contracts (14).
• Formal mentor evaluation (16), financial incentives (10), and training (13) were inconsistently implemented.

Conclusions:

• There is considerable variation in mentoring practices among CTSA institutions.
• A lack of consensus exists on "what works" for effective mentoring of new investigators.
• Empirical research is necessary to inform resource allocation for optimal mentoring support.