March 2, 2009

Turnaround Mentorship Program Seeks Mentors and Mentees

The UCSF Center for Gender Equity (CGE) is hosting two information sessions in March about its Turnaround Mentorship Program. The sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, from noon to 1 p.m. in suite 15 on the Laurel Heights campus and Wednesday, March 11, in the Medical Sciences Building, room 226, on the Parnassus campus. CGE’s Turnaround Mentorship Program targets prospective mentors, mentees and supervisors who want to do their part to create a supportive work environment and to foster professional development and advancement. The deadline to apply to participate as a mentor or mentee is Wednesday, March 18. For the application, please visit the Center for Gender Equity website. The program offers a yearlong mentoring opportunity for employees in the Administrative Assistant (AA) I and II classifications.

Offering a Chance at Career Development

The idea behind the Turnaround program is to help participants explore their professional and personal development in a mentoring relationship by pairing up with a UCSF employee who is in AA III classification or above. Mentors and mentees explore career paths and discuss the knowledge, skills and resources that could help the mentees in career development. Mentoring can be defined as a one-to-one relationship designed to guide and improve the skills of the less experienced person. Research indicates that mentoring is a key component in addressing career pipeline issues, resulting in increased diversity in the health sciences. For its part, UCSF has identified mentoring as a key strategy in promoting a supportive work environment. The UCSF Strategic Plan specifically calls on the University to “develop effective mentoring programs for all at UCSF.” Those who participate in mentoring an individual often say they get just as much, if not more, in return. “From the feedback we’ve received, we’re hearing that being a mentor allows an individual to help give back,” said Mijiza Sanchez, assistant director at CGE and director of CGE’s Turnaround program. “The wonderful thing about our program is we’re developing our human resources. It’s about sustainability; it’s about nurturing people who are in the organization. And when they become successful, they usually want to turn around and help others.” Sanchez, who has worked at UCSF for five years, attributes her career at UCSF to her mentor, who recruited her to the University. The feedback CGE has received on the program since its inception has been very positive. Gloria Hernandez-Fisher, administrative assistant in the UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital, participated in the Turnaround program as a mentee in 2008. “I would always get emails about trainings and would usually delete them. But this time, I decided to open it and it was about the Turnaround program,” said Hernandez-Fisher. “It turned out to be the best program that I’ve participated in during my 25 years here at UCSF. It gave me more confidence in my abilities and the incentive to develop my career further.” Although the mentor-mentee relationship is an individual one, team building is emphasized as a core value of the program. One team-building exercise includes rock climbing at UCSF Mission Bay. The purpose is to give the mentors and mentees a chance to work together and realize that people have different styles of working and learning. “I gained a different view on what UCSF has to offer from meeting others in the program,” said Hernandez-Fisher. “When I would come back after sessions, I would encourage others in my department to try out what I had learned. In one instance, it helped a co-worker of mine better negotiate her salary and benefits.”

Offering a Chance at Career Development

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