Interprofessional Faculty Development Through Mentorship in Higher Education

Interprofessional collaboration is essential to faculty development. This support fosters security and collegiality, vital for novice educators entering higher education. These clinicians are experts in their field, but many have no background or formal training in teaching. Through shared knowledge and experiences, both the seasoned and novice faculty demonstrate professional growth and continuous improvement, which furthers faculty development.
Research indicates mentorship programs are underutilized throughout professional fields. Positive mentorship programs display a shared commitment of acceptance, skilled instructional support, effective interpersonal contexts, continuous learning, and communicate hope and optimism. While mentorship work is still evolving, this uniquely and rapidly changing world demonstrates the need to better understand mentorship programs and their application.
Faculty mentorship co-creates a deeper foundational understanding while strengthening interprofessional collaboration across health professions. Establishing a healthy work environment while facilitating ongoing faculty development is paramount for the retention of new educators. As these new educators grow and become experienced in academia, they evolve into expert faculty that will move on to mentor others. This presentation will discuss characteristics and the creation of positive mentorship programs and the impact of mentoring on novice educators which will increase retention and improve faculty development.