Mentoring and support

The Regional Training Hub have partnered with Amanda Cawthorne-Crosby from Red Door Counselling and Consultancy, to provide you with an opportunity to further develop your mentoring skills via the ‘Mentoring on the Run’ workshops. This program was developed by the TELL Centre that also produced the highly valued ‘Teaching on the Run’ series. The Mentoring on the Run program is designed for those who are currently engaged in, or who are contemplating becoming a mentor, with an aim to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to excel in their role. After completion of the program, participants will be able to clarify the role of a mentor, affirm and advance communication skills, address some of the common challenges and to build their mentorship confidence.
 
Amanda has extensive experience as an adult educator, coach, counsellor, and mentor who specialises in providing support for medical students and clinicians. Amanda has won many educator awards including the Australian Medical Educator of the Year, whilst working as a medical educator for Alice Springs Hospital. She is well acquainted with the challenges and opportunities of providing mentorship in the Northern Territory’s unique contexts. The feedback from our 2023 cohort was highly positive with tangible outcomes for the participants.
 
Mentoring on the Run involves a series of 4 x 90-minute online workshops. We will be offering two groups, one that is delivered at 12-2pm and another from 5-7pm (ACST). You will be asked to choose one group to join. There will be some pre-reading required prior to each session. There is no cost for participants. Sessions include:
 
1.    Being a Mentor - explore roles, purposes & qualities of effective mentoring. (28 March 2024)
2.    The Mentoring Process - discuss stages, values & expectations of mentoring + relevant documentation. (9 May 2024)
3.    Communicating for Success - identify barriers & enablers to communication + practice giving feedback. (20 June 2024)
4.    From Good to Great - discuss mentoring challenges & apply a range of strategies to difficult conversations. (1 August 2024)
 
If you would like to be informed of future mentoring professional development opportunities, please contact fnt.rth@flinders.edu.au

In 2023 the NT Regional Training Hub invited NT based medical clinicians, from all levels of experience, to join our Mentoring Masterclass Program. The program provided an opportunity for participants to further develop their skills as a dynamic and effective mentor and/or mentee. Relating to self-awareness, communication, and resilience in addition to how to source and to get the most out of their mentoring relationships. For mentors, it provided an additional mechanism to share their knowledge and expertise whilst giving back to the local medical community. Throughout the program, participants were further supported with mentoring resources and a community of practice.

The content of the program was co-developed with local NT practitioners and the Pam McLean Centre (PMC), a leader in clinical communication skills training. Workshops included:

• Pam McLean Centre’s Complex Communications - Workshop (Darwin)
• Pam McLean Centre’s Building Trust Relationships (Darwin)
• Mentoring Masterclass Symposium featuring the Pam McLean Centre (Alice Springs)

Networking and panel discussion and focus group (online).

In 2022 the NT Regional Training Hub sought expressions of interest from Darwin based medical clinicians from all levels of post graduate experience, to join our 2022 pilot mentoring program as a mentor, mentee, or both.

The content of the program was co-developed with local practitioners and the Pam McLean Centre, a leader in clinical communication skills training. It encouraged an informal, flexible approach featuring professional development workshops in combination with more traditional mentoring networking opportunities where participants can learn from each other and create mutually beneficial organic relationships.

The benefits for all participants included:

• content that was focused on the needs of NT clinicians and of our unique geographical and population context
• creation of social and professional networks
• encouragement of self-driven learning, facilitation of broad transfer of knowledge, and the delivery of relevant and timely skill development
• opportunities to attend professional development workshops focussing on advanced communication skills, leadership, change management, resilience, and goal setting
• assistance with career pathway planning
• knowing how to approach and to get the most out of a mentoring relationship
• an increase of self-confidence and self-awareness within professional relationships

Mentors:

• buillt upon their current leadership skills
• learnt skills relevant to the fostering of mentoring relationships and the creation of safe learning spaces
• cultivated self-satisfaction obtained from contributing to the progression and wellbeing of others
• had an opportunity to self-reflect, share skills and experiences
• had the ability to share their knowledge in structured and unstructured environments
• had an avenue to share their passions
• had an opportunity to examine what type of legacy that they would like to leave

Relationship roles that were explored and fostered throughout the program will include those of:

• mentorship
• guide/preceptor
• collaborator
• role model

Participants received priority access to 6 professional development workshops, mentoring resources, and an online community.  The online community of practice provided a forum for participants to share experiences, resources, or approaches utilised, and to seek advice on any challenges or successes that they were having within their mentoring relationships.

Each workshop ran from 4.30pm until 8.30pm at the Flinders University Royal Darwin Hospital Campus.