{"id":45785,"date":"2014-02-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2014\/02\/26\/peer-mentoring-group-helps-keep-faculty-on-track\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T20:15:01","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T01:15:01","slug":"peer-mentoring-group-helps-keep-faculty-on-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2014\/02\/26\/peer-mentoring-group-helps-keep-faculty-on-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Peer mentoring group helps keep faculty on track"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nine early-career internists meet every other Thursday at noon. <\/p>\n

Their group is called IMMPACT (Internal Medicine Mentoring Peers in an Academic Career Track), and it has found its rhythm. Any bigger, and the group might break up into cliques. Smaller, and it may turn into an informal complaints session or social lunch group. <\/p>\n

But together, they have purpose. Together, they have made this official. They keep each other right on track.<\/p>\n

This is peer mentoring. The peer aspect helps, said Shannon Boerner, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine, IMMPACT’s chair and co-founder, along with Kelly Caverzagie, M.D., associate dean for educational strategy. It helps because they are comfortable with one another. It helps even more in that they are accountable to one another.<\/p>\n

But it helps perhaps most of all that “You are part of a group of people excited about their careers and supportive of one another’s plans,” Dr. Boerner said. This is invigorating. Who wouldn’t want to feel more passionate about his or her job?<\/p>\n

“It reminds you of why you wanted to get into academic medicine, that, ‘I work with some incredibly bright and interesting people.’ ” <\/p>\n

And, it also can remind you that you are one of them.<\/p>\n

“I believe that can change the culture of an institution,” Dr. Boerner said.<\/p>\n

IMMPACT also concentrates on three concrete, measurable objectives: <\/p>\n