Newsletter November 2021: Introducing The Mentee Club: Individual Success Through Teamwork

Dr Magdalena Fleming and Dr Carolina Soledad are taking part in the ESAIC Mentorship Programme 2020 – 2022 and earlier this year started the Mentee Club, and they continue to coordinate it. All Mentees currently participating in the Mentorship Programme have been invited to participate. The Mentee Club is run independently of the Mentorship Programme, and it is not an ESAIC initiative although the Research Team provides some administrative support.

You began your career with lofty goals and boundless ambitions. The goals remain, and the ambition is still there, however frustrating it may be at times. But the road is no longer as clear as you once imagined it to be, and the support you need to gain the experience and develop your career further simply isn’t there.

We’ve been there. And we shudder at the memory. That’s why we have launched The Mentee Club.

We found that the answer to our career questions was to build a network of people who were prepared to help us succeed. For many of us, this was happening slowly, one opportunity after another, until we found ourselves included in a broader professional and scientific conversation that offered the brighter prospects we craved. The Mentee Club develops that process intentionally, delivering a purpose-built framework for improved teamwork and professional connection that brings your career goals more quickly and firmly within your reach.

A recent Stanford University study (1) published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology relates partnership and teamwork with increased personal motivation. This relationship is highly pronounced even among members of remote teams. The study’s author notes that “working with others affords enormous social and personal benefits.” The study goes on to confirm that people who feel meaningfully included in a team-based framework, persist more than twice as long at challenging tasks, find those tasks more interesting and rewarding, and perform better work altogether.

We seek to deliver those benefits to anyone working in anaesthesiology or intensive care. The Mentee Club promotes networking amongst its members, giving us the guidance and mutual support we need.

The Club was born within the ESAIC Mentorship Programme and draws on its institutional strength to create unmatched opportunities for the mentees to network with each other and with leading professionals in the field. As the Mentee Club representatives, we act as liaisons between the members of the club and the Mentorship Programme Leader, Prof. Wolfgang Buhre.

Our members contribute to a research network that lets budding researchers and practitioners share their insights and discoveries. When upcoming trials invite the possibility of a joint investigation, we facilitate conversations that lead to cross-institutional collaboration. We also share information on upcoming conferences and professional courses: not just locations and dates, but insights from peers and mentors who know how to get the most out of each professional development experience. Exchanges and fellowships at other institutions can be instrumental in expanding our professional horizons, introducing us to fellow researchers and practitioners, and building our CV. Our network helps mentees identify, apply for, and succeed in these remarkable opportunities.

Perhaps most importantly, The Mentee Club enables its members to help each other. From advising on each other’s scientific writing to discussing our personal and professional challenges and successes, The Mentee Club is a forum for mutual support and a welcome reminder that no matter how intently we focus on our work, our efforts are always connected to a much larger professional world. We meet in person, both at dedicated Mentee Club meetings and at leading conferences. Aside from formal meetings, our members communicate regularly online.

Your career prospects once depended largely on your performance in school and your relationships with your professors. They now draw on a much larger network of working professionals. The sooner you begin to cultivate your own network of like-minded peers and mentors, the better. Join us to learn more about how we can help you do just that.

Ready to get started? It’s easy! Just apply for the Mentorship Programme, and if you’ll be selected, you’ll become a Mentee Club member.

Teamwork is power. Together, we’ll each take our careers where we want them to lead.

Please see the Mentorship website for more information: Mentorship Programme | ESAIC

References

1. Carr PB, Walton GM. Cues of working together fuel intrinsic motivation. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2014;53:169-184. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.03.015