A National Survey of Mentoring Practices for Young Investigators in Circulatory and Respiratory Health
Table 3
Participant appraisal of current mentoring practices.
Mentorship practices
Clinician versus nonclinician†
Career stage‡
Total ()
Nonclinician ()
Clinician ()
M.S. ()
Ph.D. ()
Postdoctoral ()
New investigator ()
Personal attributes of mentor with most significant impact on training, no. rated as “excellent” or “very good,” %
Approachable
82.9
84.4
84.2
85.7
85.5
83.3
83.1
Altruistic/generous
67.5
80.0
73.7
71.4
70.9
88.9
70.3
Enthusiastic
94.6
93.3
84.2
91.1
89.1
94.4
86.6
Compassionate
68.3
77.8
73.7
69.6
72.7
83.3
70.3
Nonjudgmental
68.3
66.7
78.9
71.4
67.3
72.2
68.0
Patient
72.4
71.1
73.7
76.8
72.7
77.8
72.1
Honest/sincere
82.1
84.4
78.9
87.5
85.5
88.9
82.6
Reliable
74.8
77.8
73.7
76.8
80.0
83.3
75.6
Actions and behaviour of mentor with most significant impact on training, %
Accessible
82.1
80.0
78.9
83.9
83.6
83.3
82.0
Actively listens
82.1
86.7
84.2
85.7
87.3
83.3
81.4
Provides moral support
71.5
64.4
63.2
75.0
76.4
61.1
65.7
Addresses personal issues
48.0
48.9
47.4
51.8
58.2
38.9
64.0
Assists in defining/reaching goals
63.4
77.8
73.7
71.4
70.9
66.7
62.8
Acts as a role model
82.1
84.4
78.9
87.5
87.3
83.3
82.6
Assists in skills development
74.0
77.8
73.7
80.4
78.2
77.8
75.0
Monitors career progression
67.5
68.9
68.4
76.8
67.3
66.7
68.0
Assists in navigating the institution
54.5
66.7
57.9
58.9
52.7
72.2
57.6
Facilitates networking
61.8
73.3
57.9
64.3
69.1
66.7
64.5
Participant feels he/she is in the driver’s seat in regard to current mentoring, %
Yes
68.3
68.9
68.4
71.4
63.6
77.8
68.6
No
28.5
26.7
31.6
23.2
32.7
22.2
27.9
Missing
3.3
4.4
0.0
5.4
3.6
0.0
3.5
Current mentoring program meets the needs of the participant, %
Yes
64.2
64.4
89.5
58.9
65.5
66.7
65.1
No
34.1
33.3
10.5
39.3
34.5
33.3
33.1
Missing
1.6
2.2
0.0
1.8
0.0
0.0
1.7
Participant would choose the same mentor again, %
Yes
84.6
73.3
89.5
85.7
89.1
72.2
80.8
No
11.4
22.2
10.5
14.3
10.9
22.2
14.5
Missing
4.1
4.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.6
4.7
M.S.: Master’s student; Ph.D.: doctoral student. Stratified by clinical background and career stage so that columns are not mutually exclusive. †4 participants did not specify whether or not they were clinicians. ‡24 participants did not specify their career stage or marked their career stage as “other.” Within 60 months of first academic appointment.
