PGY-1 mentorship component
The transition from medical student to resident is a significant period in the development of a physician. It is an important time for knowledge and experience acquisition, and it also presents challenges in terms of adapting to new responsibilities and increased work demands.
Our priority is to ensure that this transition is supported and fostered in a nurturing way. During their PGY-1, our residents are focused predominantly on medical rotations and have not yet begun their core psychiatry training. At that time, mentoring and anchoring residents to our program is of great importance so that they develop a sense of belonging within their specialty.
Previously, PGY-1 residents where assigned a staff member based on assumed compatibilities in terms of interests and personality. This mentorship model was fraught with problems, including mismatches between trainees and mentors, lack of time to meet, and a lack of subject matters to discuss.
For these reasons, the program office created a new mentorship initiative entitled the Heinz Lehmann Mentorship Group. The HL mentor provides incoming junior residents (PGY-1) access to resources within our program, department, university, and specialty.
Key players
- The Heinz Lehmann mentor
- One faculty member
- One senior resident (PGY4–5)
- The Heinz Lehmann mentees
- PGY-1 residents in the postgraduate psychiatry program
Selection of staff mentors
The program director and program office are responsible for selecting a suitable faculty member. There might be a call for applications if more than one attending demonstrate interest in this position. Mentors will be selected in the spring (soon after the publication of the CaRMS match results) before the start of the upcoming academic year. This will enable mentors to become acquainted with the medical students who have chosen our training program (CaRMS).
Selection of resident mentors
The MPRA and program director/program office are responsible for selecting a suitable senior resident for the role of resident mentor. There might be a call for applications if more than one resident demonstrate an interest in this position. Mentors will be selected in the spring (soon after the publication of the CaRMS match results) before the start of the upcoming academic year. This will enable mentors to become acquainted with the medical students who have chosen our training program (CaRMS).
Roles and responsibilities of staff mentors
- Inspire our department’s new recruits with passion for and interest in psychiatry
- Be familiar with the residency training program and department
- Be familiar with our program’s handbook, the FMRQ handbook, and McGill’s faculty promotions documents
- Organize, with the help of the program and resident mentor, a minimum of two dinners with our program’s entire cohort of PGY-1s.
- Ideally, these should be held at the staff’s home, which will favour a welcoming atmosphere that is adequate for uninterrupted conversation. A suitable restaurant setting, one that will not hinder group conversation, would also be acceptable.
- We strongly discourage choosing a noisy setting where confidentiality might be compromised in any way.
- We strongly encourage staff mentors to host as many dinners as desired by the mentees and residents. However, a minimum of two official dinners are mandatory.
- Timing of dinners
- Early fall of PGY-1
- Late spring of PGY-1
- Theme of discussion for each official dinner
- Early fall dinner: Adapting to residency
- Discussing the hidden curriculum (articles as resources)
- Late spring dinner: Preparing for entry into psychiatry
- Discussing the hidden curriculum (articles as resources)
- Early fall dinner: Adapting to residency
- Shared self-reflection
- Residents will be required to prepare a self-reflective typed text/narrative on the theme of each dinner, to submit this document to their staff mentor for review and to log this work on one45 (Mentorship activities (new longitudinal requirement)).
- Specific themes or subjects for the first dinner can include:
- The challenges of entering residency
- How to cope with the new demands of being a resident
- How to cope with stress in a healthy way
- The challenges involved in changing institution, province, country
- Defining the concept of wellness for medical trainees
- How to foster wellness and wellbeing amongst colleagues
- Specific themes or subjects for the second dinner can include:
- What are your expectations on entering psychiatry residency training?
- What are you excited about as you enter psychiatry residency training?
- What are you worried about upon entering psychiatry residency training?
- What are your feelings in regards to psychotherapy?
- What are your feelings in regards to research
- Ensure that mentees have submitted their self-reflective texts
- Review the self-reflective texts
- Initiate dialogue with trainees related to specific aspects of their self-reflective piece, if necessary or desiredĚý
- Although the minimum requirement is that mentors host two dinners in the PGY-1 year, we strongly encourage staff and resident mentors to meet with PGY-1 residents on an individual basis to address their specific needs.
- Staff mentors remain the designated mentors for their cohort for the complete duration of that cohort’s training in our program.
- The HL mentor might also direct junior residents toward mentors who they believe would be a good match from a clinical interest and/or academic perspective.
- There is a pseudo academic/professionalism advisory role to the HL mentors. We strongly encourage mentors to read “best practices” pertaining to their roles and responsibilities towards residents. These include:
- Fostering a healthy relationship with one45 (practice for entering CPD credits as staff)
- Encouraging a timely response to emails from the program, faculty, and postgrad
- Encouraging continuous and timely constructive feedback on rotations, lectures, and supervisors
Roles and responsibilities of resident mentors
- Support the staff mentor in organizing the two mandatory dinners
- Support the PGY-1 residents in preparing their two self-reflective texts
- Support junior residents by identifying important reading material for their level
- Support junior residents by providing information on conferences to attend
- Support junior residents by helping or advising them in selecting rotations, psychotherapy supervisors, research advisors, etc.
Roles and responsibilities of the program
- The program will provide mentors with administrative assistance in organizing the two official dinners for the PGY-1
- The program will fund both PGY-1 dinners up to a maximum of $1,000 (for the two dinners)
- The program will offer a symbolic stipend (depending on the program’s budgetary capacity) to the staff and resident mentors as an expression of its gratitude for their dedication to mentorship.
Other program-based mentorship initiatives:
- Balint groups organized for PGY1 residents by senior residents (MPRA residents)
- First year presentation to PGY1: Transition into residency (MPRA)
PGY2–PGY5 mentorship component
Since its inception, the HL mentorship initiative has received resoundingly positive feedback. It has been such a success that residents have asked that it be available throughout their five years of training. As mentioned above, the faculty mentor remains the cohort’s mentor for the full five years of training. However, residents requested that structured activities be formally initiated for every year of training.
For each training cohort there will be an annual mentorship event supported by the program (based on access to funding). This event can take the shape of whatever a given cohort’s mentor and residents choose. However, for each year there will be a strongly recommended theme on which to base the activity and corresponding self-reflection exercises, which must respect the above-mentioned process.
PGY2
The PGY2 is typically the most formative and exciting year of training. Residents have completed their first year of the program (involving nine periods of service), and, finally, at the start of PGY2 are typically at the same site for 6 to 12 months and potentially 24 months (should they choose to stay at the same site through their PGY2 and PGY3). PGY2 is the year that residents gain a foundation in of our specialty. It is a year associated with its share of challenges.
- Timing of mentorship event(s):
- At the discretion of trainees and mentor. However, midway through the academic year might be best.
- Theme(s) of discussion for the PGY2 event:
- Adapting to entry to psychiatry
- Discussing the hidden curriculum
- Discussing positive and negative role models
- Shared self-reflection
- Residents will be required to prepare a self-reflective typed text/narrative on the theme. They will be required to submit this document to their staff mentor for review and to log this work on one45 (Mentorship activities (new longitudinal requirement)).
- Specific themes or subjects for the PGY2 mentorship event can include:
- What were some of the exciting facets of entry into PGY2?
- What were some of the more challenging aspects of entry into PGY2?
- What do you find interesting in acting as a psychotherapist in training?
- What are some of the ways you are coping with the demands of residency training?
- How do you foresee the next 6 months of training?
- In what ways would you like to see the next 6 months differ from the previous 6 months?
- How do you think the hidden curriculum has impacted your training experience thus far?
- You’re probably quite familiar with positive role models, but have you had experiences with negative role models?
- Ensure that mentees have submitted their self-reflective texts
- Review the self-reflective pieces
- Initiate dialogue with trainees related to specific aspects of their self-reflective piece, if necessary or desired
PGY3
The PGY3 is an immersion into treating the extremes of age. The autonomy typically gained at the end of the PGY2 year initially has to be relinquished as residents care for the very young and the very old. The PGY3 is also a period of increased questioning about career paths, as well as a time when the coping habits used to manage the rigors of training during PGY2 are consolidated. Hence, it is a time for continuous self-reflection and self-improvement.
- Timing of mentorship event(s):
- At the discretion of trainees and mentor. However, midway through the academic year might be best.
- Theme(s) of discussion for the PGY3 event:
- Adapting to the care of patients at the extremes of age
- Burgeoning reflections on future career in psychiatry
- Self-care during training: how healthy are my coping strategies?
- Ongoing discussion on:
- Hidden curriculum and its impact on training
- Positive and negative role models
- Shared self-reflection
- Residents will be required to prepare a self-reflective typed text/narrative on the theme. They will be required to submit this document to their staff mentor for review and to log this work on one45 (Mentorship activities (new longitudinal requirement)).
- Specific themes or subjects for the PGY3 mentorship event can include:
- How do you feel about caring for younger and older patients with psychiatric diagnoses?
- Has this training year opened new passions for child and adolescent psychiatry or geriatric psychiatry?
- At this time, you’re midway through training. Any thoughts on what kind of career you might want?
- If you were to look back at the last 12 to 24 months of training, do you find that your mechanisms for coping with the stress associated with training are improving? If not, what would you change, and do you know how to access the resources needed to make positive changes?
- How do you think the hidden curriculum has impacted your training experience as you advance in that training?
- You’re probably quite familiar with positive role models, but have you had any experiences with negative role models?
- Ensure that mentees have submitted their self-reflective texts
- Review the self-reflective pieces
- Initiate dialogue with trainees related to specific aspects of their self-reflective piece, if necessary or desired
PGY4
PGY4 is the adult complex-care year. Residents consolidate their knowledge and slowly slip into the role of the junior consulting clinician. PGY4 is the year when career questions are at the forefront of residents’ concerns. PGY4 is also a year of continued self-reflection on the demands of becoming a psychiatrist.
- Timing of mentorship event(s):
- At the discretion of trainees and mentor. However midway through the academic year might be best.
- As part of the general program’s orientation, PGY4s will have a special teaching session oriented towards career planning. This event will be hosted by the program director and their mentor who will invite recent graduates working in different environments (academic, community, private, combination) and will answer residents’ questions regarding career planning:
- This session includes preparing a CV.
- Looking for fellowships (provincial, national, US and international)
- Job prospects
- Emailing department chiefs
- Theme(s) of discussion for the PGY4 event:
- Career planning
- Ongoing discussion on:
- Hidden curriculum and its impact on training
- Positive and negative role models
- Shared self-reflection
- Residents will be required to prepare a self-reflective typed text/narrative on the theme. They will be required to submit this document to their staff mentor for review and to log this work on one45 (Mentorship activities (new longitudinal requirement)).
- Specific themes or subjects for the PGY4 mentorship event can include:
- Have you thought of the kind of practice you would like once you become staff?
- Have you reflected on the pros and cons of pursuing a career in academia vs. community vs. private?
- How do you feel about assuming the role of a senior resident and the associated training expectations?
- How do you feel about assuming the role a junior clinician by the end of your PGY4?
- How do you think the hidden curriculum has impacted your training experience as you advance in that training?
- You’re probably quite familiar with positive role models, but have you had any experiences with negative role models?
- Ensure that mentees have submitted their self-reflective texts
- Review the self-reflective pieces
- Initiate dialogue with trainees related to specific aspects of their self-reflective piece, if necessary or desired.
PGY5
PGY5 is an exciting and daunting year. It’s a year of Royal College exam prep. It’s a year of electives and selectives, and a year of finalizing career plans. It’s a year of high stress, completion of training, and preparation to become a fellow or to begin a career in psychiatry.
- Timing of mentorship event(s):
- At the discretion of trainees and mentor. However, midway through the academic year might be best.
- As part of the general program and in preparation for their transition to staff, PGY5s will have a special teaching session oriented towards being staff (for those starting to work as a psychiatrist after graduation; PGY5s doing a fellowship at McGill or elsewhere but coming back to work at McGill will be invited to this session the following year).
- This event will be hosted by the program director and the mentor assigned to that cohort who will invite residents to spend a day with them and learn about billing, about being part of a department, and what it’s like to be a junior staff member.
- This event will include tips on negotiating with their chief of department regarding work detail.
- Registering with RAMQ, CMPA, MAINPORT, billing agency, etc.
- Theme(s) of discussion for the PGY5 event:
- Transitioning to staff
- Shared self-reflection
- Residents will be required to prepare a self-reflective typed text/narrative on the theme. They will be required to submit this document to their staff mentor for review and to log this work on one45 (Mentorship activities (new longitudinal requirement)).
- Specific themes or subjects for the PGY5 mentorship event can include:
- How do you feel about becoming staff?
- What do you think you will enjoy most about being staff?
- What do you think you will enjoy least about being staff?
- Ensure that mentees have submitted their self-reflective texts
- Review the self-reflective pieces
- Initiate dialogue with trainees related to specific aspects of their self-reflective piece, if necessary or desired.
Mentors for 2020-2021
PGY1: Dr March Chammas marc.chammas [at] mcgill.ca
Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý ĚýDr Nicolas Garel nicolas.garel [at] mcgill.ca
PGY2: Dr Laura Lachance laura.lachance [at] mcgill.ca
Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Dr Mario-Pierre Gervais mario-pierre.gervais [at] mail.mcgill.ca
PGY3: Dr Nazlie Faridi nazlie.faridi [at] mcgill.ca
PGY4: Dr Melissa Pickles melissa.pickles [at] mcgill.ca
PGY5: Dr Simon Ducharme simon.ducharme [at] mcgill.ca
Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Ěý Dr Tuong Vi Nguyen tuong.v.nguyen [at] mcgill.ca
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