Apply to Be a Mentor
Mentor the next generation. Become a rheumatologist preceptor. Applications for REF Preceptorship awards are due May 2, 2011. Please visit www.rheumatology.org/REF for more information.
What roles do the ACR and the REF play in the mentoring process? Both organizations strive to facilitate good mentoring, which I am proud to say has occurred on several fronts. The REF offers a diverse portfolio of funding opportunities for career development. The REF fosters a climate conducive to good mentoring by insisting its grantees set specific research and educational goals, organize a timeline for achieving these goals, and prepare annual progress reports. The REF also holds its Within Our Reach: Finding a Cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis Investigators’ Meeting simultaneously with the ACR-sponsored Rheumatology Research Workshop, bringing together established investigators with early career rheumatologists to create mentoring opportunities. The ACR has a Fellow’s Fund to support travel for rheumatology fellows to the ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting so that they may intermingle with our members.
The future of rheumatology depends not only on the success of the REF but also on building good mentoring relationships, which is something all of us should continue to think about and embrace.
[Author‘s note: For additional reading on this topic, I recommend The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Mentoring Relationships by Lois Zachary (Jossey-Bass, 2000).]
Dr. St.Clair is president of the ACR REF and interim chief of the division of rheumatology and immunology at Duke University. Contact him at wstclair@rheumatology.org.