Clinical Advisors

At the start of their programs, each resident will be paired with a Resident Clinical Advisor. 

Goals

  1. Provide residents with an enhanced personal and professional residency experience via a relationship with an experienced hospital pharmacist coach/advisor

  2. Provide hospital pharmacists with the opportunity to enhance the residency experience and professional development of a resident

Who is eligible to be a Clinical Advisor?

  • Ideally, clinical advisors will have involvement in the residency program (e.g.: a preceptor or other teaching role)

  • Resident Advisors will be solicited and selected from our experienced residency preceptor pool; they should have completed a hospital pharmacy residency program and/or advanced pharmacy degree (with experiential learning as a component)

Expectations of a Resident clinical Advisor - Mentee relationship

The purpose of the Resident Clinical Advisor Program is to provide more structured and formal opportunities for our residents to connect with an experienced residency preceptor.   The Resident Clinical Advisor will closely monitor the resident’s performance throughout the course of the year, actively providing guidance, support and mentorship to the resident.

Responsibilities of the Resident Clinical Advisor include:

  • Meeting with the resident within 1 month of the start of their program

  • Maintaining open communication with the resident, meeting with the resident, either in-person or by phone, on a once monthly basis at a minimum

  • Following the resident’s progress through regular review of the resident’s rotation evaluations and discussing current progress, challenges faced, etc. with the resident at each monthly meeting. Resident Clinical Advisors will be provided access to their resident's evaluations via one45.

  • Providing guidance on their case presentations or oral assessment preparation as requested by the resident

  • Being willing to discuss and/or provide guidance on issues of importance to the resident. This may include challenges faced on rotation, evaluation or performance hiccups, work-life balance, time management issues, career decisions, etc.

  • Participating in the 2 longitudinal progress assessment meetings with the resident and Residency Coordinator

  • Advising the resident when to contact the Residency Coordinator

Responsibilities of the Resident mentee include:

  • Initiating contact with the Advisor within 1 week of the start of their program

  • Maintaining open communication with their Resident Clinical Advisor, and touching base with their Advisor on a once monthly basis

  • Keeping their Advisor informed of important events in their residency life

  • Having realistic expectations of their Advisor, within the framework of their responsibilities listed above

The Resident Clinical Advisor Program does not discourage residents from seeking support, advice or mentorship from others as needed or desired.  The role of the Resident Clinical Advisor is intended to augment the support, guidance and direction provided by the Residency Coordinator to all LMPS residents.   

What mentorship is:

Mentoring is “a dynamic and non-competitive nurturing process that promotes independence, autonomy, and self-actualization in the protégé while fostering a sense of pride and fulfillment, support, and continuity in the mentor”. [Valdez & Lund J Contin Ed Nurs 1993;24:259-63]

Outstanding Mentors:

  1. Exhibit admirable personal qualities, including enthusiasm, compassion, and selflessness;

  2. Act as a career guide, offering a vision but purposefully tailoring support to each mentee;

  3. Make strong time commitments with regular, frequent, and high-quality meetings;

  4. Support personal/professional balance; and

  5. Leave a legacy of how to be a good mentor through role modelling. [Am J Med 2011;124;453-458]

What mentorship is NOT:

  1. A relationship involving EVALUATION, SUPERVISION, or DISCIPLINE of residents

  2. Preceptorship. Mentorship is primarily personal, non-judgmental, and non-evaluative.

  3. Associated with administrative responsibilities. It is intended to enhance personal and professional fulfillment of both resident and mentor.

What mentorship can provide for RESIDENTS:

  • Increased independence, self-confidence, decision-making skills, problem-solving skills, job skills

  • Increased probability of success in the residency program

  • Enhanced outlook and attitudes about the profession

  • Increased appreciation of the value of mentorship, which they can perpetuate

  • Opportunity to spend time with influential people

What mentorship can provide for MENTORS:

  • Opportunities for reflective thinking

  • Personal satisfaction

  • Collaboration and collegiality

  • The opportunity to have a positive, lasting effect on an individual practitioner's life

  • The chance to help shape the profession and improve the quality of future practitioners

  • Recognition from the profession as a practitioner who is giving back to the profession by mentoring pharmacy's future leaders

Mentor/Mentee Resources

Mentoring: Giving Constructive Feedback (Helen Roberts, Mentor Workshop, SPH, October 2006.) 

Powerful Questions for Mentors to Ask

How good a mentor am I? Self-assessment

TIPS FOR MENTORS AND MENTEES

Potential mentoring activities:

  • Listen to your resident

  • Focus on asking “powerful questions” (questions that are challenging, but in a friendly way)

  • Focus on being a resource, catalyst, facilitator, idea generator, networker, and problem-solver, NOT a person with all the answers. 

  • Help the resident solve problems

  • Help the resident prepare for “first” experiences

  • Sharing personal experiences, successes and failures

  • Involve resident in social and extracurricular professional activities

  • Encourage resident to be involved in professional activities and societies

Issues for potential discussion between mentors & residents:

  • “Inside information” on the organization and its political functions

  • The profession and the local, provincial, national context

  • Administrative and organizational policies and procedures

  • How is the project progressing?

  • What were resident personal goals and objectives for the rotations completed? Were they met?

  • What’s happening with the resident’s ePortfolio?

  • Presentation skills

  • Literature evaluation skills

  • What are two areas you wish to improve (identified by resident and preceptor)? How will you do it?

  • What are 2 areas you feel you are improving (identified by resident and preceptor)? How will you maintain them?

  • Are they happy?

Tips for residents to get the most out of the relationship:

  • Prior to your first meeting with your mentor, write down at least three things you would like to achieve through mentoring. Rank the three items in order of importance to you. Also write down three things that concern you most about meeting with your mentor. Rank these three things in order of importance.

  • If not included in either of the lists created above, write down at least three attitudes or perspectives you will be able to provide during the mentoring sessions. If possible, write down three things about yourself that might get in the way of you being able to make the most of the mentoring opportunity.

  • If not included in your lists, write down at least three things you would like your mentor to provide.

  • Prepare a brief autobiography based on the above lists that you can share with your mentor when you first meet. Be sure to also include your own vision, mission or life goals.

  • It is likely that you selected your mentor or were matched with your mentor because of the mentor's resources. This typically means that you mentor has both considerable gifts and a tight time schedule. Dealing with time is a key aspect of the success of mentoring. Make sure you are clear about your needs.

  • Be prepared to do some homework in order to demonstrate initiative, leadership and self-reliance. Explore alternative options for asking questions or gaining information other than just relying on your mentor. For example, if there is a policy manual, make sure you have read through it before asking your mentor about it. On the other hand, keep your mentor in the picture by letting the mentor know why you are asking a particular question after having explored other options.

  • The focus of most successful mentoring is mutual learning. Feel free to explore what you have to offer the mentor. A sense of humor and a sense of enjoyment of your time together are essential as well. If your needs are not being met, discuss this with your mentor. Terminating a mentoring relationship or switching to a different mentor are not signs of failure. Recognizing your changing needs and finding a respectful way to meet your learning goals are one of the keys to successful executive mentoring.

OTHER RESOURCES FOR MENTORS:

www.mentors.ca

STRENGTHS OF A “FORMAL” MENTORSHIP PROGRAM LIKE THIS:

  • Strong organizational message that mentorship is valued is sent by having such a program

  • Assignment of pairs ensures that all residents will have an opportunity to be mentored

  • Encourages mentors to take their responsibilities seriously and reduces opportunities for abuse of the relationship by mentors 

 
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