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KUMC Faculty. 100. Educating Kansas’ Healthcare Workers for over. Years. Mentoring: Reading the Signs & Knowing Where to Refer Your Mentee for Personal Problems Affecting Their Performance. Elizabeth C. Penick, PhD William F. Gabrielli, Jr., MD, PhD. Issues.
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KUMC Faculty 100 Educating Kansas’ Healthcare Workers for over Years
Mentoring:Reading the Signs & Knowing Where to Refer Your Mentee for Personal Problems Affecting Their Performance Elizabeth C. Penick, PhD William F. Gabrielli, Jr., MD, PhD
Issues • When and when not to be concerned. • Medical illness. • Personal issues. • Performance issues. • Healthy lifestyle development. • Match of training, skill, and expectations. • Success measurement issues. • Mentor & mentee match.
When and When Not to Be Concerned • Does the Mentee want you to be concerned? • Is the situation likely to resolve itself spontaneously with patience? • Is the problem so concerning that something needs to be done? • Is the situation such that if intervention didn’t occur an invaluable opportunity might be missed? • Is the situation one that should be addressed in another venue and if addressed could you harm the mentor-mentee relationship? • Do you need to wear an “Institutional” hat?
Medical Issues • Is there a depression, thought disorder, mania, eating disorder, or severe anxiety disorder present? • Severe persistent sleep disturbance, sadness, loss of interest in most pleasurable activities, difficulty with concentration, excessive preoccupation with weight and/or appearance, consistent and excessive irritability, reckless behavior, fanciful activities, significant false fixed belief systems, disturbances of perception, substantially interfering worry, obsession, rituals. • Do these symptoms consume a substantial amount of energy and focus and significantly interfere with social or occupational performance, or have significant other medical consequence?
Medical Issues • Are there other significant unaddressed medical conditions that impair performance? • Inadequately controlled diabetes, asthma, hormonal, gynecological, GI, musculoskeletal, neurological, or other illness or condition. • Is the impairment causing substantial interference on a consistent or very frequent basis and likely to continue to do so?
Personal Issues • Are there personality issues that interfere with performance? • Examples: narcissistic, antisocial, paranoid, dependent, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive. • Is this character consistent and sufficiently severe to make usual mentoring and professional relationships difficult? • Is there an alcohol or substance abuse issue? Gambling addiction?
Performance Issues • Is performance in typical or usual professional dimensions not up to standard? • Were expectations not correct? • Were predictor measures not correct? • Has there been a change in ability? • Are the measures correct? • Has there been insufficient resource or is there unexpected interference? • Are the performance measures improving in the direction of target, following a stable trajectory, or falling behind?
Healthy Lifestyle Development • Are there ways to encourage healthy lifestyle improvements? • Time out for family/social activity, arts, sports, other intellectual activities and other pursuits. • Proper attention to healthy diet, sleep, exercise activities—a well rounded life. • Work in its place can actually be more productive because work-time can be more efficient.
Match of Training, Skill, Expectations • Do the expectations match background, skill, and training? • Insufficient prior training, mentoring, or knowledge can be a setback. • Inability to complete the expected tasks can be very difficult. Can the skill be acquired?
Success Measurement • Are we judging performance accurately and fairly? • Do we have the correct method of assessment? • Are we choosing the right measures of success? • Is there success in one dimension that compensates for lack of success on another?
Mentor & Mentee Match • Do the Mentor and Mentee belong together? • Is there a compatible working relationship? Fit? • Are there differences in style or expectation that interferes? • Does the mentor have a medical, personal, or professional conflict that inhibits maximal mentee development?
RED FLAGS: GENERAL • Any major change in your mentee’s affect or behavior that concerns you.
RED FLAGS: SPECIFIC • Mood/ Tension/ Emotional Reactions (depression, apathy, withdrawn, agitation) • Concentration/ Attention/ Follow Through (distractibility, problems with memory, avoidance) • Looks Stoned/ Alcohol on Breath (erratic, disheveled, unexpected financial problems) • Interpersonal Interactions (with mentor, with family, with others)
Responses • Trying to be sensitive to the needs of the mentee. • Use appropriate targets/goals. • Facilitate availability of resources. • Offer examples of successful approaches. • Encourage lifestyle changes that facilitate a better quality of life. • Set milestones and celebrate success. • Periodically ask if another mentor might be able to add to what is already accomplished.
Resources • Medical • Counseling • Role Models • Time Management and other Skills training activities • Additional educational training.
KUMC Faculty 100 Educating Kansas’ Healthcare Workers for over Years