Faculty vitality is essential for the sustained health of OHSU. The School of Medicine Office of the Dean and the Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institute (OCTRI) are partnering on a multi-year initiative to enhance this vitality by providing a framework to support the ongoing professional and leadership development of our faculty. This new initiative, Grow From Within To Excellence, will reverse the traditional approach of sending a few faculty members to leadership and development courses at other universities and, instead, invest in developing these programs at OHSU. Not only will this allow more people to benefit, it will better accommodate the schedules and commitments of faculty members. 

The first part of the new initiative – emphasizing mentorship — includes three tiers structured to accommodate different levels of interest and different points along a career trajectory. The first tier will train a cohort of up to 15 "Lead Mentors." Lead Mentors will be asked to take responsibility for developing and implementing tailored mentoring programs and increasing mentoring capacity within their departments or other cross-departmental organizations. Lead Mentors will learn from each other, share mentoring best practices and learn new strategies with expert input and guidance. The program costs are covered by the Office of the Dean and OCTRI; there is no fee for participation although Lead Mentors will be asked to commit six to eight hours per month. 

The Lead Mentors program is an important new leadership and development opportunity. Please click here for more details and to apply online for the Lead Mentors program. If you wish to nominate a colleague, please encourage them to apply online. Applications will be considered until July 31, 2009.  Questions? Contact Drs. Patrice Eiff or Niki Steckler.

The second tier is a "Career Perspective" seminar series that provides an overview (or refresher) of key development topics. The third tier is a companion series of workshops with more in-depth information and training. These all-faculty seminars and workshops will cover topics such as: 

• getting the most from your annual review
• getting the mentoring you need
• the art of effective communication
• and more.

The all-faculty program kicks off this fall; faculty members will receive regular updates about all these events.