Early career mentoring through the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology: Lessons learned from a pilot program.
Effective networking and mentorship are critical determinants of career satisfaction and success in academic medicine. The American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) mentoring program was developed to support Early Career (EC) members. Herein, the authors report on the initial 2-year outcomes of this novel program.



Mentees selected mentors with expertise in different subspecialties within the field from mentor profiles at the ASPHO Web site. Of 23 enrolled pairs, 19 mentors and 16 mentees completed electronic program feedback evaluations. The authors analyzed data collected between February 2013 and December 2014. The authors used descriptive statistics for categorical data and thematic analysis for qualitative data.



The overall response rate was 76% (35/46). At the initiation of the relationship, career development and research planning were the most commonly identified goals for both mentors and mentees. Participants communicated by phone, e-mail, or met in-person at ASPHO annual meetings. Most mentor-mentee pairs were satisfied with the mentoring relationship, considered it a rewarding experience that justified their time and effort, achieved their goals in a timely manner with objective work products, and planned to continue the relationship. However, time constraints and infrequent communications remained a challenge.



Participation in the ASPHO mentoring program suggests a clear benefit to a broad spectrum of ASPHO EC members with diverse personal and professional development needs. Efforts to expand the mentoring program are ongoing and focused on increasing enrollment of mentors to cover a wider diversity of career tracks/subspecialties and evaluating career and academic outcomes more objectively.
Division of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.|Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine at Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
Sherif M
SM
Badawy
Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida.
Vandy
V
Black
Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Emily R
ER
Meier
Division of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Immune Deficiency, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Kasiani C
KC
Myers
Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Joe DiMaggio's Children's Hospital, Hollywood, Florida.
Kerice
K
Pinkney
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland & Research Center Oakland, Oakland, California.
Caroline
C
Hastings
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado.
Joanne M
JM
Hilden
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
Patrick
P
Zweidler-McKay
Division Head of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
Linda C
LC
Stork
Department of Pediatrics, Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia.
Theodore S
TS
Johnson
Department of Pediatrics, Children's Cancer Center, Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, New York.
Sarah R
SR
Vaiselbuh
D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education*; D000071252:Mentoring; D008611:Mentors; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation
career development; early career; fellow; junior faculty; mentoring; mentorship; pediatric hematology oncology; pediatric subspecialty; trainee