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Mentoring
is more than providing supervision; it is an interactive relationship. For
a mentoring relationship to be successful for both mentor and student, it
needs to involve certain elements including: Honesty as the core value from
both mentor and student; mutual respect, trust, and compassion; and sharing
and listening.
As with any professional
position, a faculty member has multiple demands on his/her time and priorities.
Being a mentor to students as well as the principal investigator on a
research project can lead to potentially conflicting situations. Mentors
should provide a nurturing instructional environment in which students
can gain experience in becoming researchers themselves. Recipients of
research grants have an obligation to the granting agency based on the
proposal submitted. In addition, they have an obligation both to themselves
professionally and to those whom they support (graduate students, technicians)
to maintain funding for the research. An important part of the mentoring
process is to share this information with students in the early stages
of the mentoring relationship. Once students are familiar with how research
is supported financially, they are more likely to be active supporters
during the grant submission process.
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