Fostering Comprehensive Faculty Professional Development and Mentoring: A Unique Multifaceted Approach

Faculty development programs often focus on high-achieving academics, overlooking those with less ambitious academic goals. To address this gap, we launched a comprehensive faculty development initiative in January 2022, aiming to support all faculty through structured mentoring and individualized professional development.

The program includes three main components: (1) new faculty orientation; (2) biannual, individualized mentoring sessions; and (3) department-wide initiatives such as webinars. Faculty participation and program impact were evaluated through surveys and tracking academic and clinical achievements.

In 3 years, participation grew from 13 to 26 mentees and 6 to 15 mentors, with 67% of faculty engaging in formal mentoring sessions. A survey conducted 2 years post-launch had a 70% response rate (41/59), including 11 mentees and 8 mentors. All new faculty reported that the orientation met their needs. Among mentees, 90% agreed or strongly agreed that mentoring enhanced promotion readiness and engagement in teaching and research. Outcomes included three internal grant recipients who launched new clinical programs, and 10 departmental award recipients.

This faculty development model supports diverse academic goals, strengthens mentoring culture and enhances institutional success. Its flexible design can be tailored to meet the unique infrastructure and needs of other academic programs.