Mentoring Expectations

An important element of the KL2 Mentored Career Development Program is the formative relationship established between you and your mentor.

This relationship forms the basis for your clinical research development, and your mentor is your primary source of formal and informal acculturation as a clinical investigator. Mentors also play a critical role in helping you identify and pursue appropriate education, training and other career development goals.

Initial agreement

As with any relationship, scholar-mentor relationships are not immune to conflicts. To assist KL2 scholars and mentors in defining expectations and minimizing miscommunications that can lead to conflicts, you and your mentor are required to complete and submit the Initial Mentoring Agreement — Expectations for the Mentoring Relationship form (PDF) with your KL2 Program application.

This agreement is designed to assist you and your mentor in establishing expectations for your relationship and provoke discussion in areas critical for your development.

Detailed agreement

After you are accepted into the KL2 Program, you and your mentors will complete the Individual Development Plan (IDP) — Expectations for the Mentoring Relationship form (PDF). This agreement is to be reviewed and updated annually.

Mentoring resources

Additional online resources and in-person workshops are available to Mayo Clinic staff and students to build interpersonal, professional and mentoring skills. Visit the Faculty Development page within the Office of Applied Scholarship and Education Science (must be logged in to the Mayo Clinic network) for more information.

HR Connect offers more resources on general mentorship. Visit HR Connect (must be logged in to the Mayo Clinic network) and search with the term "mentoring."