Mentorship Program
Applications are now being accepted through September 22nd!
Program Goals
The New England HIMSS Mentorship Program is designed to facilitate conversation between NE HIMSS members that wish to offer advice (Mentors) and those that are looking to solicit advice (Mentees). This advice could be relating to professional development, learning about different HIT career paths, or potentially other areas of interest. New applications for mentors and mentees will be accepted between August 19 - September 22, 2024.
Note - membership in the New England chapter of HIMSS is required to participate in the program.
Program Description
The NE HIMSS Mentorship Committee has developed a straightforward application process that prospective Mentees and Mentors will need to fill out for each program year. The application will help the committee understand the goals and interests of the mentees and the experiences and skills of the mentors. The committee will then make their best efforts to create matches that best suit both parties involved.
There are many factors to a successful match, so we ask each mentee/mentor pair to meet and confirm their interest in working together during the year. If at any point during the program year the mentee/mentor pair decides the match does not work, either of them can ask the committee to be re-matched.
While most successful matches in the past have met once a month, the frequency and duration of each meeting is entirely up to the pair. The mentee/mentor pair might find it beneficial to meet in person or meet on-line but the logistics are up to each pair.
Program Requirements
Mentees:
All mentees involved in the program need to be a member of the NE HIMSS chapter and participate solely for their personal and professional development. The program welcomes members that are looking to gain insights from others, whether they are early in their career or not.
Mentors:
All mentors involved in the program need to be a member of the NE HIMSS chapter and participate solely as a way to give back to the NE HIMSS community. This program is designed for personal and professional development, not as a means to sell services or solutions.
While there are no “formal” criteria to be a mentor, it is expected that anyone seeking to be a mentor in this program will have several years work experience and have sufficient skills and knowledge to be able to help someone earlier in their career, a people-focused style, and a commitment to developing the next generation of Health IT professionals.
Many people want to give back but don’t think they have enough years of experience in Health IT or might lack certain knowledge, but they can still be a great mentor. Being willing to listen and offer advice and/or constructive feedback is the key to successful mentoring. Also, having knowledge in a specific area, such as clinical informatics or revenue cycle management, would enable you to Mentor someone starting in their career interested in these career paths.
Professionals who have retired from their career in Health IT can be great mentors, even if they haven’t maintained their current connections in the industry. They have experience, knowledge, and skills that are still very relevant.
However, mentorship is not about telling someone else what to do or how to do it. It is about offering guidance and advice as an aid to help them grow professionally.
If you are unsure if you have the right experience to be a mentor, reach out to the Mentorship committee at nehimss.mentorship@gmail.com and we can help you out.
Program Process
The Commitee will review each application and determine if the applicant is qualified. If qualified, the committee will make the matches and introduce each mentor/mentee pair via email. If not qualified, the committee will notify the applicant of that decision and why.
Program Evaluation
The committee has developed materials to help each mentee/mentor pair to be as successful as possible. The goal of the committee is not to provide oversight, but rather guidance. While some mentee/mentor pairs will appreciate the structure provided by these materials, others might find they get in the way. How each pair uses these materials will be up to them. Each pair will need to create mutually agreeable goals for the mentorship. There will be a required evaluation using a simple questionnaire at the end of the year to determine if the program was beneficial to its participants. These evaluations will help the NEHIMSS board work to continuously improve the program.
Timeline
Applications are accepted starting August 19, 2024 and the program will run from October to June, with regular check-ins. If a mentee or mentor would like to continue their involvement in the program the following year, they have the option on the application to ask to continue their current pairing, but it is not necessary to do so.
Application
Please click the appropriate link below (depending on whether you want to be a mentee or mentor) and submit your application. As soon as the committee has identified a match, the committee will be in touch, no later than October 1st.
NOTE: If you want to be both a mentee and a mentor, please submit both applications.
Mentee link
Mentor link
Any questions, please send to nehimss.mentorship@gmail.com.
Thank you for your interest in participating in the 2024-2025 Mentorship program.