Factors influencing success of mentor and mentee pairing
| . | Theme . | Description of theme . | Representative quotes∗ . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mentee response | |||
| Themes indicating positive influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Similar interests | Mentor and mentee had similar interests, which helped strengthen mentoring relationship. | “Superb match. [My mentor] and I are both focused in patient oriented, clinical research, with a focus in thrombosis and haemostasis.” |
| “We are both motivated individuals with an interest in thrombosis! We worked well together and were able to get a productive scholarly activity out of the relationship.” | |||
| Mentor qualities | Mentees appreciated mentors who were supportive, engaged, approachable, and experts in their field. Many saw their mentor as role models. | “I felt incredibly comfortable working with [my mentor]. He was approachable, always available for questions, and I could tell had a genuine interest in my career and future goals.” | |
| “[H]e has so far been such a great mentor for me, not just to introduce me to people…but to also be able to see that you can do it all and still be such a kind person.” | |||
| Representation | Mentees responded positively to having a mentor with shared demographic characteristics such as self-identified gender or race. | “As a Black male meeting [my mentor] and getting his direct mentorship provided me safety and permission to live up to my dream of being a physician scientist[.]” | |
| “I think my mentor allowed me to see that women can have children and still thrive in their careers. I think that representation is important, and I do not think I would have been able to experience that with a male mentor.” | |||
| External mentor | Having an external mentor was helpful in expanding opportunities and perspectives. | “[There were] only a handful of hematologists at [my] program…it was nice to have an outside perspective.” | |
| “Having an external mentor outside of my program helped me consider opportunities outside of my own institution, including collaboration on other projects and committees.” | |||
| Good communication | Mentees appreciated good communication from mentor such as being available to meet or being easy to contact. | “Despite our differences in location, he was able to work closely with me via Zoom meetings on various research projects.” | |
| “Quick contact after initial set up.” | |||
| Themes indicating negative influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Level of engagement | Minimal level of mentor engagement negatively impacted the mentoring relationship. | “Minimal engagement” |
| Inadequate communication | Communication difficulties, such as frequency of meetings or contact, sometimes negatively impacted the relationship. | “…I wish our communication was better (both schedules very busy).” | |
| “…we only ha[d] 2 meetings, and she seems very busy and we never followed up.” | |||
| Mentor Response | |||
| Themes indicating positive influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Similar interests | Mentor and mentee shared similar interests, which helped strengthen the mentoring relationship. | “[Mentee] is interested in pursuing a translational research career, so I was able to share my experience of working in a lab while I was a fellow and early career faculty.” |
| “We were both interested in exactly the same populations to study.” | |||
| Mentee attributes | Mentors appreciated mentees who were engaged and productive. | “[Mentee] was engaged, motivated and a very hard worker. She was a delight to work with and we were able to successfully create a manuscript which has since been published.” | |
| Good communication | Mentors valued good communication with mentees. | “I was able to connect regularly with my mentee and felt I had a lot to offer her after hearing about her goals for our meetings.” | |
| Themes indicating negative influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Difference in academic interest and goals | Interests between mentor and mentee were different; however, they still had a good relationship. | “Overall, a good match, however, his interest was general overall and not in my disease focus (VTE). I was still able to provide guidance and mentorship broadly.” |
| Mentee engagement | Low level of engagement (for personal or other reasons) may have negatively impacted the mentoring relationship. | “Didn't have the feeling that mentee was that engaged or had need/desire for mentorship outside of home institution.” | |
| Inadequate communication | Infrequent communication may have been an obstacle to the success of some mentoring pairs. | “We initially met monthly, but because the mentee was then starting her new position, I left it up to her to plan the next few months meeting, but never heard from her.” |
| . | Theme . | Description of theme . | Representative quotes∗ . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mentee response | |||
| Themes indicating positive influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Similar interests | Mentor and mentee had similar interests, which helped strengthen mentoring relationship. | “Superb match. [My mentor] and I are both focused in patient oriented, clinical research, with a focus in thrombosis and haemostasis.” |
| “We are both motivated individuals with an interest in thrombosis! We worked well together and were able to get a productive scholarly activity out of the relationship.” | |||
| Mentor qualities | Mentees appreciated mentors who were supportive, engaged, approachable, and experts in their field. Many saw their mentor as role models. | “I felt incredibly comfortable working with [my mentor]. He was approachable, always available for questions, and I could tell had a genuine interest in my career and future goals.” | |
| “[H]e has so far been such a great mentor for me, not just to introduce me to people…but to also be able to see that you can do it all and still be such a kind person.” | |||
| Representation | Mentees responded positively to having a mentor with shared demographic characteristics such as self-identified gender or race. | “As a Black male meeting [my mentor] and getting his direct mentorship provided me safety and permission to live up to my dream of being a physician scientist[.]” | |
| “I think my mentor allowed me to see that women can have children and still thrive in their careers. I think that representation is important, and I do not think I would have been able to experience that with a male mentor.” | |||
| External mentor | Having an external mentor was helpful in expanding opportunities and perspectives. | “[There were] only a handful of hematologists at [my] program…it was nice to have an outside perspective.” | |
| “Having an external mentor outside of my program helped me consider opportunities outside of my own institution, including collaboration on other projects and committees.” | |||
| Good communication | Mentees appreciated good communication from mentor such as being available to meet or being easy to contact. | “Despite our differences in location, he was able to work closely with me via Zoom meetings on various research projects.” | |
| “Quick contact after initial set up.” | |||
| Themes indicating negative influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Level of engagement | Minimal level of mentor engagement negatively impacted the mentoring relationship. | “Minimal engagement” |
| Inadequate communication | Communication difficulties, such as frequency of meetings or contact, sometimes negatively impacted the relationship. | “…I wish our communication was better (both schedules very busy).” | |
| “…we only ha[d] 2 meetings, and she seems very busy and we never followed up.” | |||
| Mentor Response | |||
| Themes indicating positive influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Similar interests | Mentor and mentee shared similar interests, which helped strengthen the mentoring relationship. | “[Mentee] is interested in pursuing a translational research career, so I was able to share my experience of working in a lab while I was a fellow and early career faculty.” |
| “We were both interested in exactly the same populations to study.” | |||
| Mentee attributes | Mentors appreciated mentees who were engaged and productive. | “[Mentee] was engaged, motivated and a very hard worker. She was a delight to work with and we were able to successfully create a manuscript which has since been published.” | |
| Good communication | Mentors valued good communication with mentees. | “I was able to connect regularly with my mentee and felt I had a lot to offer her after hearing about her goals for our meetings.” | |
| Themes indicating negative influence on mentee-mentor relationship | Difference in academic interest and goals | Interests between mentor and mentee were different; however, they still had a good relationship. | “Overall, a good match, however, his interest was general overall and not in my disease focus (VTE). I was still able to provide guidance and mentorship broadly.” |
| Mentee engagement | Low level of engagement (for personal or other reasons) may have negatively impacted the mentoring relationship. | “Didn't have the feeling that mentee was that engaged or had need/desire for mentorship outside of home institution.” | |
| Inadequate communication | Infrequent communication may have been an obstacle to the success of some mentoring pairs. | “We initially met monthly, but because the mentee was then starting her new position, I left it up to her to plan the next few months meeting, but never heard from her.” |
VTE, venous thromboembolism.
Quotes were obtained from surveys, interview, and focus group.