Who can participate?
The mentoring programme is designed for full members and Fellows of the RCR who are happy to commit to a 12 month match and who fit one of the following categories:
Mentee: Final-year trainee, newly appointed consultants, or consultants moving into new roles (e.g. arriving from overseas to work in the UK, taking on a training or management role)
Mentor: 5-10 years of experience as a consultant with an interest in personal development
What am I committing to?
When your registration with the mentoring scheme is confirmed, this means you will be attending a 2-hour online training session, after which you will be offered a match which lasts for 12 months. We suggest meeting for 6 one-hour sessions over the 12 months, but you are welcome to adjust this to suit the particulars of your match.
Who will I be matched with?
You will always be matched with someone outside of your own trust/UHB. If you have preferences for your match (e.g. cross-faculty, particular subspecialty, etc.), you are welcome to include these on your application form and where possible we will endeavour to match you accordingly.
Will I be matched with someone in the session I attend?
This is often the case, however in the case of uneven numbers or specific preferences, we also have a pool of mentors trained at previous sessions who are available and happy to be matched again.
If my mentoring match isn’t working out, what can I do?
There are many reasons why a match may not be working out; if this is happening, please be in touch with the Mentoring Team so that we may assist and/or rematch you.
Can mentoring count towards my CPD?
If you have gained useful experience through mentoring, you may claim up to 2 CPD points for this (one for reflecting on activities undertaken and one for the impact the activity has had on your professional practice) by completing the reflection and impact templates in your online CPD journal on the RCR Learning hub.
Will you be having in-person workshops as well as virtual?
These workshops were previously held in person, and we're delighted that the shift to online workshops necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has been successful. At this point, all 2023 mentoring workshop will be held online.
Who will be giving the training?
Our trainer is Alexis Hutson, who has had her own coaching and mentoring practice since 2009 and also worked in the NHS in various roles for 9 years. She has designed and facilitated our mentoring workshops since the pilot program in 2014.