Not Too Late to Reinvigorate: How Midcareer Faculty Can Continue Growing

Group peer mentoring to improve faculty connections and enhance mentoring networks

BACKGROUND

Difficulty finding mentors and forging connections in academic departments can be challenging and became even more so when the COVID-19 pandemic reduced opportunities for informal networking. Even as restrictions on in-person meetings eased, many faculty preferred meetings to remain virtual. Because some of the most powerful predictors of faculty vitality are positive professional relationships and feelings of inclusion and belonging to an institution, attending to faculty needs in this area is important to mitigate undesired lingering consequences.

APPROACH

We created structured peer mentoring groups for our department's physicians and psychologists that meet virtually. Groups span career stages, academic appointments and clinical interests. The purpose was to establish a deeper culture of mentoring, increase feelings of connection to a supportive community within the department, facilitate career planning and enhance the development of skills necessary in academic medicine such as teaching skills, scholarly productivity and personal wellness.

EVALUATION

A survey conducted after the first year of the programme was completed by 70% of eligible faculty (31/45). Ninety-six percent felt the programme had created an inclusive and appreciative culture, 86% met faculty members they had never met before and 79% sought mentoring advice from a colleague they would not usually have interacted with in that manner. All participants appreciated hearing their colleagues' perspectives on topics they do not typically discuss.

IMPLICATIONS

Departmentally based group peer mentoring that spans career stages and interests can facilitate faculty connections and enhance a supportive culture of mentorship.

Making a Major Change: Changing Your Practice Setting, Retirement, and Locums

The goal of this article is to discuss factors associated with career change and give data and recommendations of how to prepare for a career change in regards to early, mid, and late career.

Late-Career Faculty: Individual and Institutional Perspectives

The demographic shift toward older populations of physicians is well documented across much of the globe. As a result, it is becoming imperative that academic organizations generate research to inform understanding of both individual and institutional needs relating to these faculty members. The 2 reports by Skarupski and colleagues in this issue of Academic Medicine build on the research that is available, expose some new areas for consideration, and raise new lines of inquiry for researchers interested in studying late-career faculty and faculty transitions. The author of this Invited Commentary aims to situate Skarupski and colleagues' findings relative to what the academic medicine community knows-and does not know-about late-career faculty members, the institutions that employ these faculty, and the complex relationships therewith. Specifically, the author explores the following: the demographics of those considering retirement; the connection between identity and retirement decisions; the alignment between institutional and faculty member needs; institution preparedness; mentoring; and theoretical constructs and areas for inquiry that may inform future investigations.