Mentorship is a crucial component of a healthcare leader’s professional development, and ACHE supports members interested in serving as both mentees and mentors. For example, the Leadership Mentoring Network works with members to establish mentor-mentee partnerships through virtual methods. Local chapters can help facilitate mentoring relationships, as well.
The National Capital Healthcare Executives chapter, which covers northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., revitalized its mentorship efforts and relaunched a mentorship program in the fall of 2022. The six-month program used a dedicated cohort approach and leveraged elements of programs offered by ACHE and other chapters, most notably the ACHE of North Texas chapter. A flexible framework provided direction and accountability for both mentors and mentees, and it also allowed individualization to fulfill program goals for each mentor-mentee pairing.
The chapter’s mentorship program was a success, with a completion rate of nearly 75%. Participants’ feedback identified valuable elements of the program, including the ability to build relationships between mentors and mentees, and providing tools for developing goals that mentees can personalize based on conversations with their mentors. Regular check-ins were provided by the program facilitators, and participants were required to document their experiences through easy-to-use monthly activity updates. More than 80 mentoring sessions were completed, which provided great value to mentees.
Program recruitment was based on participant interest for both mentors and mentees, career level, rationale for applying, and best mode of communication preferred (audio, video or both). A thoughtful process was used to match mentees with their mentors to ensure an accurate fit for bidirectional fulfillment of program goals.
The program concluded with a chapter program celebration and networking event, where each “graduating” mentee received a framed certificate of completion and was individually photographed with their mentor and chapter leaders. More than 70 chapter members and guests attended the event, which was also highlighted by guest speaker Catherine Codispoti, executive vice president/chief people officer, Children’s National Hospital, Washington, D.C., and an ACHE Member. Codispoti congratulated both the mentees and mentors and spoke about the important role mentoring plays throughout the career of a healthcare professional.
Finally, the overwhelming success of the 2022–2023 mentorship program places this year’s program at a heightened level for engagement, enrollment and sharing the benefits of mentorship across the full spectrum of the Washington, D.C., and northern Virgina areas through the National Capital Healthcare Executives’ chapter region.
To find your chapter, search the chapter directory. To discuss your ideas for chapters, contact Stacey A. Kidd, CAE, director, Chapter Relations, Department of Executive Engagement, at (312) 424-9323 or skidd@ache.org.