Dedicated to supporting the career advancement of ethnic black surgeons, a newly launched mentoring program is making waves in the medical field. This initiative, focused on fostering surgical excellence among black trainees, offers a wealth of resources and guidance to help participants navigate their professional journey successfully.
How is the program structured?
Webinars: Host webinars on topics such as managing disruptive behaviour, leadership, resilience, career development, research opportunities, and navigating the healthcare system.. Invited speakers will give talks on the topic followed by Q&A.
Webinar structure: This will be an 1hr 45min session, intially with speaker followed by a group mentoring session with group split into smaller breakout sessions focused on discussion around topic using set talking points or using Action Learning Set style discussion to deal with issues around topic.
- Mentorship Groups: Form small groups of 5-6 trainees each, paired with a mentor who will liaise with the group once a month for Action learning set style learning. As described above, this would occur after the session. This creates a small community within the group and allows mentors to get to know mentees through these discussion and allow for further development as needed outside of these sessions. If capacity allows, we would ask mentors to try and meet each one of their mentor group twice within the year for 20-30mins to help provide more focused career development advice.
- Networking events - Three formal face to face networking events where mentors and mentees as well as selected guests and speakers come together. Ideally at the start, middle and end of the programme. These serve as anchoring points for the programme, providing opportunity for further relationships to be built within the mentoring group.
In conclusion, the mentoring program for black surgical trainees is a valuable resource for those looking to advance their careers in the medical field. With its comprehensive website serving as a gateway to a wealth of resources and support, the program is well-positioned to empower and uplift aspiring black surgeons on their professional journey.
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