Radiology Mentoring Program for Early Career Faculty-Implementation and Outcomes

Objective: To implement a mentoring program for early career faculty in an academic radiology department and to assess its impact on career development. Methods: A formal departmental mentoring program for early career faculty (instructors) who were paired with senior radiologists outside of their division was implemented. The program provided structured one-on-one mentoring, creation of a mentoring network, and opportunities for peer mentoring. A survey was conducted before and 1 year after initiation of the program. Historical data on promotion over 5 years before the implementation of the program was used to determine the impact on the rate of promotion. The study was exempt from institutional review board approval. Results: Before and 1 year after implementation of the mentoring program, 57% versus 86% of instructors were satisfied with their mentor (P = .04); 43% versus 90% felt that by encouraging mentorship, the department valued their professional development (P = .001); 38% versus 86% felt that the department created an environment that promoted feedback and sharing of information (P = .002); and 43% versus 76% felt that faculty strove to support each other (P = .03). Since implementation of the program, 43% of instructors received grant funding, 50% received other awards, and 10 instructors were promoted to assistant professor, compared with an average of 4.2/y over the past 5 years. Of those, three were underrepresented minorities in medicine versus none in the previous 5 years. Conclusions: A mentoring program helped to advance the careers of early career and minority radiology faculty and helped create an atmosphere of more openness and support in the department.