At the last Board Meeting of the St. Louis Medical Librarians, it was decided to investigate the possibility of SLML having a mentor program. Of course we used the National Library of Medicine's Mentor Program as our guide for SLML.
What is a mentor? A SLML member who has been in the organization for more than 2 years.
What is a mentee? A new member to SLML
I believe our new members would like to have a “friend/colleague/medical librarian” to show them how to reach their full potential as an SLML member.
How would it work?
First, decide if you wish to be a mentor.
You are asked to work with your mentee for a year.
Think about MLA's Guidelines for Mentors as a guide if you are willing to be a mentor.
As a mentor look at the Medical Library Association’s Tips for Mentors and all but step 3 applies to the St. Louis Medical Librarians. Use these as a guide for your interaction with your mentee.
As a mentor, you can gain points toward AHIP certification by sending in the Mentor Agreement to MLA
Let the President of SLML know you want to be on the “List of Mentors”
Second, a new member would be asked if they wished to have a mentor.
If yes, then we would take the first name on our List of Mentors and assign the mentee to his/her mentor.
Let me know if you think this is a good program for us. Let me know if you would be a mentor and help welcome a new colleague to SLML.
