# 1. It appears early on that Dr. Michaels may have low expectations of Susan, or that he is, for other reasons, relatively passive with regard to Susanās progress. What is Susanās responsibility in this situation?

Mentees have significant responsibilities in the training process, and one of those responsibilities is being their own strongest advocate. We live in an individualistic society that places a premium on individual responsibility. In any profession, it behooves the trainee to consistently evaluate their situation early on, with long-term and short-term goals in mind. The trainee should never think that a neglectful, unproductive, unethical, or demeaning situation will somehow work itself out in the long run. When difficult situations arise with direct supervisors, the trainee should seek the counsel of a senior person in the department, someone who has a reputation of assisting more junior individuals in awkward or problematic circumstances, or perhaps go to the ombudspersonās office at the institution to decide on a course of action. In many departments and schools, difficult situations occur even in the best of training milieus, and special committees have been developed to handle these circumstances, with the explicit understanding that students and postdocs can come to the committee without fear of confidentiality infringement or retribution. Some departments have gone so far as to create special funds that will support students or postdocs when the conclusion has been reached that it is in the best interests of the student and the department to move the trainee to another environment. However, it is still incumbent on the trainee to seek the assistance of the committee.
Ideally, the trainee should have done a significant amount of research on the department and program he or she is entering long before coming to the institution that he or she decides on. Part of that research process should be dedicated to a personal evaluation of the faculty one might be working with, being especially mindful of those who most probably will have direct oversight and evaluative functions over him or her during the training process. This preliminary research should include looking into the time it has usually taken others to progress to degree conferral and/or training completion after they have started working with a particular individual. One shouldnāt be hesitant to ask about the quality of the relationship that evolved over time for others who have worked under particular individuals.