A National Survey of Mentoring Practices for Young Investigators in Circulatory and Respiratory Health

Background. Improving mentorship may help decrease the shortage of young investigators (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and new investigators) available to work as independent researchers in cardiovascular and respiratory health. Objectives. To determine (1) the mentoring practices for trainees affiliated with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH), (2) the positive attributes of mentors, and (3) the recommendations regarding what makes good mentorship. Methods. We conducted a survey and descriptive analysis of young investigators with a CIHR Training and Salary Award from 2010 to 2013 or who submitted an abstract to the ICRH 2014 Young Investigators Forum. Clinicians were compared to nonclinicians. Results. Of 172 participants, 7.0% had no mentor. Only 43.6% had defined goals and 40.7% had defined timelines, while 54.1% had informal forms of mentorship. A significant proportion (33.1%) felt that their current mentorship did not meet their needs. Among clinicians, 22.2% would not have chosen the same mentor again versus 11.4% of nonclinicians. All participants favored mentors who provided guidance on career and work-life balance. Suggestions for improved mentoring included formal mentorship, increased networking, and quality assurance. Conclusion. There is an important need to improve mentoring in cardiovascular and respiratory health.