Fellowship Mentoring

Incoming fellows are paired with a committed faculty mentor who aligns with their clinical, education, or research interests from the start of their training. The mentor-mentee pair meet formally over the course of the academic year. Meeting topics include adjusting to Penn and Philadelphia, establishing and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, managing responsibilities on clinical rotations, planning research or education projects, and navigating the job search and contract negotiation process. They also help to guide fellows to mentorship and project opportunities with other Penn faculty who may have similar interests. 

Guidelines for Support and Guidance:

July – August

• Discussing what lead the fellow to pursue geriatrics
• Learning about mentor and mentee areas of interest
• Introductory discussion of career plans
• Brainstorming ideas for scholarly or education projects
• Talk about adjustment to the fellowship and wider academic and medical community

October-November

• Managing expectations, i.e. how is fellowship going?
• Assessing whether and how career goals or interests have changed
• Updates on scholarly and education projects and new ideas
• Initial discussion of job search strategies

January-February

• Ensure fellow is getting necessary training and developing confidence to practice independently
• Any specific goals for remaining fellowship time
• Update on scholarly and education projects
• Discussion of job options

April-May

• Plans for after fellowship
• Conclusion of scholarly or education projects, takeaways and next steps
• Advice for ongoing career development
• Assistance with networking
• Any additional learning opportunities with faculty or care sites prior to completing fellowship