YNP Mentorship Programme

I. Summary

The ERA YNP Mentorship Programme aims at giving young professionals interested in nephrology (physicians, researchers, biologists, nurses, nutritionists, etc.) – “the mentee” – an opportunity to exchange experiences with senior or more experienced nephrologists within the ERA, in order to increase the future professional success as well as broaden the horizons of these young trainees/professionals.

This one-to-one relationship gives the mentor an outside perspective on how the mentee is prepared for the requirements needed in her/his professional field and career management; while the mentee can get useful suggestions and help from those who have “been there before”.

The programme is based on a personal relationship between the participants. The mentee is a developing junior professional in training, who is in an early, active, phase of development of his/her research potential, or with realistic aspirations for a significant research career regardless of the candidate’s current position. The YNP Board and, if the YNP Board requires, the ERA Council main ex-officio officers (President, Secretary-Treasurer and Renal Science Chair), will decide whether the mentee candidate is eligible for the mentee position based on the candidate’s CV. He/she is paired with a mentor from which to learn and receive guidance. The mentor is a senior professional who has experience in the area that the mentee is interested in developing and is committed to the growth and development of the mentee. This mentorship programme is a partnership of two equals, both sharing full responsibility for communication, growth, feedback, and providing follow-through.

If you have any questions, concerns or feedback about the programme or your mentorship relationship, please get in touch with the YNP Board via the email address ynp@era-online.org with the subject “Mentorship Programme”.

II. ERA YNP Mentorship Programme

1. Purpose

The primary purpose of the ERA YNP Mentorship Programme is to support the professional and career development of the mentee.

2. Role of the Mentor

Mentors should have strong expertise and a reputation as wise leaders. They should be open, enthusiastic, and generous teacher who shares their wisdom and experience. The mentee expects respect and commitment to her/his growth and development from the mentor.

The mentor should be able to:

• help with the curriculum and career management/development, 
• help overcome professional challenges, 
• review time management, 
• discuss strategies (i.e. looking for resources and collaborations) for advancement in the research and/or clinical field, 
• create a web of connections and give visibility to the mentee, 
• give the mentee the possibility to join one of your ongoing projects. 

The benefits of the programme, however, can be extended to:

• Increased communication and interaction within the Society, 
• Attraction, development and retention of talented young members, 
• Building expertise and leadership, 
• Expand your network, 
• Receive feedback from a more experienced or senior nephrologist,  
• Participate in networking activities organized at the occasion of the annual ERA Congress.

3. Overview and general rules

• Both the mentor and the mentee should be active ERA members. The mentee should also be a member of the YNP, 
• For participation in this programme, both the mentee and the prospective mentor must reside in different countries, not necessarily within the ERA geographical area, 
• Communication between them (once or twice per month is the recommended number of meetings), will be maintained via electronic means, 
• The official language of this programme is English, 
• All information (professional and personal) should be treated as confidential or at the level of confidentiality discussed and agreed upon, 
• Both the mentor and the mentee should devote 3-4 hours a month to the programme, 
• The mentor can only take on one or a maximum of two mentees each year, 
• The mentee can have only one mentor, 
• The formal length of the programme can vary from a minimum of nine months to a maximum of twelve months, at that point, the participants may continue in an informal mentorship relationship based on a mutual agreement between them. This decision, however, should be documented and the YNP Board should be informed accordingly, 
• The goals should be set according to the mentee’s interests and focused on overcoming professional challenges, career promotion and motivation, 
• The mentee will be given the opportunity to indicate their preferred mentors (1st, 2nd and 3rd choice) from a list of potential mentors available in the ERA website, YNP section, 
• The Head of the department the mentee’s direct superior must agree with the mentee’s participation in this programme by filling in the Head of Department approval, which should be sent together with the candidate’s application, 
• If by any chance the mentee has an internal (in-house) mentor (supervisor/tutor), she/he will be requested to sign an agreement, indicating she/he is informed about the programme and supports the participation of the mentee in taking part in it. The Internal Mentor Agreement Form is given in the attachment. Internal mentor and external mentor are encouraged to contact/communicate in favour of the mentee, 
• At the end of the mentorship programme, within 6 months, and with the approval of the mentor, the mentee will be able to visit the mentor’s institution for one week in a date to be agreed upon between the mentor and the mentee. This internship is designed to strengthen the ties between mentor-mentee and give the mentee the opportunity to network directly with the mentor in his/her environment. The ERA has allocated a specific amount for these internship grants, to be allocated on a first come first serve basis. The internship grant will be given to the mentee to cover the costs for the accommodation & allowance, considering the EMBO -European Molecular Biology Organisation- daily subsistence rates: these daily flat fee figures will be applied for the duration of the visit and are meant to cover living expenses and any work-related taxes and insurances. A travel grant amount will also be added to the previously mentioned grant and it is meant to cover the expenses related to one round trip from the country of residence to the host country (click here to view the travel grants chart). The mentee must fill out the Internship Application form and send it to ynp@era-online.org. Once the mentee has completed the visit, the End of Internship Report must be completed and returned to ynp@era-online.org no later than 30 days after the visit. The maximum amount allocated for this project can be found on the ERA website in the specific section of the YNP page, 
• IMPORTANT any taxes and insurances are the responsibility of the fellow, for no reason will ERA be held liable for these matters. In the event of early termination or no realization of the internship, the extra amounts already paid will have to be repaid back to ERA. ERA will not give any other financial support apart from what is clearly mentioned above, 
• The relationship between the mentor and the mentee should be completely independent of internal/local matters as well as of cultural influence; it should in fact be based on broader external perspectives and/or knowledge; 
• Mentors should have proven expertise in nephrology (clinical work; and/or clinical research; and/or basic science research), 
• Mentors who are currently in fellowship training are also welcome and will be paired with medical students or medical residents, 
• Every mentor will be acknowledged on the ERA website by publishing her/his short biography and photo including major areas of expertise and/or research interests. 

 4. Selection and matching process

• Before starting the ERA YNP Mentorship Programme, mentors should be recruited through an open call, 
• In order to ensure that the supply of mentors meets (or at least does not restrict) the demand, there will be neither a limit to the number of mentors nor a deadline for applying to the programme, thus submissions can be done during the entire year, 
• The YNP Board, with the assistance of the main ex-officio Officers, if needed, will be in charge of selecting potential mentors according to their time availability, their experience and willingness to share their experiences. The application form for mentors is available here (Mentor Application Form), 
• Once a list of mentors is created, YNP members will be able to apply for a mentee position. The YNP Mentorship Programme will launch an open call for the mentees by the beginning of December of each year. The programme will be open to all young professionals interested in nephrology, such as physicians, researchers, biologists, nurses, nutritionists, etc. All candidates must submit a specific form (Mentee Application Form), 
• Similar to what happens for the mentor, the mentee can apply for the ERA YNP Mentorship Programme year-round; 
• The maximum number of mentee positions will be based on the number of mentors since a mentor can have one or a maximum two mentees at any given time, 
• The match between available mentors and mentees will be under the responsibility of the YNP Board based on their Application Forms. All matches will be discussed throughout the year and should be approved by YNP Board and presented to the ERA Council for final approval, 
• After matching them up, both the mentee and the mentor have to sign an agreement term (Mentee Agreement Form) and Mentor Agreement Form), 
• The Head of the Department or the mentee’s direct superior will be informed by means of an official letter from the YNP Board about the matching and the participation of the mentee in the YNP Mentorship Programme (Participation Release). 

5. Evaluation

• The YNP Board should measure the programme process annually and ensure that the rules outlined in this regulation are followed. The YNP Board will maintain email contact with the participants to detect any problems and support them with ideas for mentorship activities. A questionnaire has been prepared to evaluate the progress of the programme (Programme Evaluation Questionnaire),
• In order to evaluate the effectiveness and outcomes of the programme, both mentor and mentee should provide feedback to the YNP Board regarding the usefulness of the programme itself. This feedback must be submitted at least twice during the duration of the programme – at mid-term and at the end on dates pre-determined by the YNP Board. The method that will be used will follow the GROW model: both the mentor and mentee write down the Goal of the e-meeting(s) and the Reality of accomplishments, describe the Options, end with a Wrap-up that lists the milestones in the progress that has been made so far. The evaluation form is given in the attachment (Programme Evaluation Form),
• The best or more significant reports will be submitted to the ERA Council so that they can then be used by the Society for advertising matters and/or publication purposes.

III. Role of the YNP Board

The YNP Board will be directly involved in the programme coordination and will have the commitment, ability and authority to oversee the ERA YNP Mentorship Programme.

Specific roles are to:

• Promote the programme within the Society, 
• Select and approve mentors and mentees together with the ERA Council, 
• Guarantee organizational commitment to the programme, including information on the YNP Mentorship Programme; requesting information from the mentors and mentees about the programme process; communicating procedures for submitting evaluations; building enthusiasm about the programme and encouraging active participation, 
• Communicate what has been accomplished and what is pending, as well as an annual report of the programme to the ERA Council outlining the annual performance/development of the programme and its best or more significant outcomes, 
• YNP Board officially informs the Head of the Department or the mentee’s direct superior about the matching and participation of the mentee in the ERA YNP Mentorship Programme by means of an official letter (Participation Release). 

IV. Appendix

1. Mentee Application Form,
2. Mentor Application Form,
3. Internal Mentor Agreement Form,
4. Mentee Agreement Form,
5. Mentor Agreement Form,
6. Head of Department approval,
7. Programme Evaluation Questionnaire,
8. Programme Evaluation Form (GROW model),
9. Participation Release,
10. Internship Application Form.
11. End of Internship Report

Last update: November 2023