Did you know there are personal, professional, and organizational benefits to becoming an AO mentor?
AO Access is launching its pilot Mentorship Program this month! Take this opportunity and familiarize yourself with the values and benefits of becoming a mentor or mentee here and apply to be part of the pilot.
From our Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (ODII) survey in 2019, and supported by evidence-based literature, we know that mentorship influences and shapes your personal and professional development. In line with the mission and vision of AO Access, promoting inclusion and diversity within our field is critical to improving patient outcomes as well as providing mentorship to trainees and peers, and supporting equitable access to leadership. Mentorship and engaging a diverse population—especially underrepresented groups at an early age and stage—are important to achieve these goals.
Support for mentees is empowering to the mentor as well as the mentee: Both benefit from supporting mentees in resolving current issues, developing coping strategies for the future, and recognizing boundaries to guide and foster personal and professional growth, including educational development. As a mentor, acknowledging your mentee’s strengths, talents, and gifts, and encouraging them to find ways to use them will be a challenging and rewarding process.
The purpose of the AO Access Mentorship Task Force is to inspire and support the AO's global community to collaboratively reach new heights in terms of excellence and fulfill personal and professional goals, transforming the lives of mentors and mentees through a global network enabling collaborative learning and facilitating personal and professional growth in an inclusive and sustainable way.
This pilot is based on a three-month formal mentoring program facilitated via an online platform, where you will be anonymously matched based on mentor's competencies and mentee's needs. The expectation is that this formally matched mentoring relationship will continue beyond the initial three-month program.
Please consider the requirements before you complete your application here and apply via the open call. The extended deadline to submit your applications is Sunday evening, CEST, October 31.
Your AO Access Mentorship Task Force
Robert McGuire
MD, AO Foundation Past-President
AO Access Steering Committee Chairperson and AO Foundation Board representative
“Assuring future leadership for the AO Foundation is paramount to the viability of the organization. Our new Mentorship Program is designed to identify our future leaders and provide experiences through mentorship that will assist these young surgeons in achieving their goals and ours. Not only will this program facilitate integration of our young talent into the organization, it will also allow our senior surgeons a means of remaining engaged after completing their AO careers by imparting their leadership knowledge and experiences as mentors to the next generation.”
Marinis Pirpiris
Associate Professor, MBBS, BMedSci, GradDipEpidBiostat, MEpi, PhD, FRACS, FAOrthA
AO Access Mentorship Task Force Lead
“The AO Access Mentorship Program provides AO members with the ability to share their unique knowledge and insights. As an AO mentor, you will help mentees understand their opportunities for personal and professional growth, open doors to wider professional networks, and support them in becoming more effective leaders. Please take up the challenge and help AO mentees develop their strengths and overcome their weaknesses, and guide them in their professional development and career progression.”
Voices for change: celebrating diversity within the AO
Accessing AO: narratives from our members
The AO embraces differences and celebrates diversity. Educating ourselves and sharing our narratives is powerful. Become an advocate for change and—by sharing your story—help to create a culture and climate where everyone feels welcome, safe, respected, and valued and has a sense of belonging.
Submit your narrative here.
