Radiology Mentorship Program
Wellness & Professional Development Update | Jeanne Horowitz, MD, Vice Chair of Education & Faculty Affairs
Since its launch in 2020, the Radiology Mentoring Program (NU RaMP) has offered many opportunities for career growth, professional development, and employee wellness within our department. This program was initiated by Dr. Jeanne Horowitz with the goal of creating supported space for residents and faculty members to work on leadership development, research, and promotions within the context of the mentee’s goals. Horowitz notes that there is a wellness aspect to these efforts. “Mentoring is important for career satisfaction and development. Good mentors can also help with recognition as well as provide support with work overload or tips with workflow and processes.” Nu RaMP has two mentorship tracks: paired mentorship and resident mentorship. Paired mentorship is offered to faculty who wish to work with an associate or full-time professor. Mentorship is highly encouraged for faculty within five years of starting their appointment. With the help of PGY-4 Dr. Francisco Maldonado and PGY-2 Dr. Logan Jackson, the resident mentorship program is fully operational. This group consists of a group of two faculty with 6-8 residents who meet a few times a year. Informational workshops geared toward mentors and mentees are regularly available. Materials from these workshops are offered on the department website. A mentoring lunch occurred in May 2023, as well.
Mentorship is very effective in getting promotions. Survey results after the first year of the resident program and year-end evaluations of the mentoring pairs have both shown positive results overall. Horowitz has a keen interest in mentoring and says she got her start through NUCATS. By studying research and literature in radiology articles as well as business publications in the lay press, she was able to come up with effective strategies for mentoring in the Department of Radiology. She is also part of the Alliance of Leaders in Academic Affairs in Radiology (ALAAR) group through AUR. Currently, she is part of the mentorship committee. “What I appreciate about this group is that leaders can learn from each other about what other groups are doing,” she says. The Department of Radiology has benefitted from having top-down support as well. “One thing I’ve noticed networking with these radiologists is that they need leadership support,” Horowitz continues. “Dr. Carr’s support has helped to structure these programs to be successful.” NU RaMP always welcomes new mentors and mentees. All are welcome to reach out to Dr. Horowitz for more information.
Wellness in the Department of Radiology
Recent studies have shown that clinician burnout is an increasingly important issue to address on a national level. Burnout is closely associated with both job satisfaction and clinician retention. The Department of Radiology’s Wellness Council, headed by Drs. Jeanne Horowitz and Senta Berggruen, works to improve physician wellness in a number of ways. “There are six main factors that lead to burnout at work: work overload, lack of control, lack of fairness, insufficient rewards or recognition, lack of community, mismatch in values,” Horowitz says. Understanding the sources of problems directly translates into solutions on the department level. “The Wellness Council focuses on trying to improve things that are in our circle of control at work. This can be at the section, group, or department level,” Horowitz adds. The larger the group, the more difficult it becomes to find specific ways of addressing wellness. In 2022, Dr. Horowitz and a team from the department published “Team Approach to Improving Radiologist Wellness: A Case-Based Methodology” in Issue 5 of Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology which helped to launch current wellness efforts in the department. This paper shows how the DMAIC methodology (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) helps to make lasting
changes in wellness. This is one of many methodologies that can be employed to achieve results in improvement projects. Special events include a summer welcome party, an RSNA alumni reception, a trainee holiday party, and resident/ fellow graduation. Getting together increases a feeling of community, which is important in a workplace. “Radiologists and staff can do small or big things to improve wellness at work,” Horowitz points out. This year the group is working on rewards and recognition including awards to faculty and encouraging a practice of giving kudos to trainees, staff and to radiologists. Kudos, it has been found, increase both personal and group satisfaction with contagious energy. If you are looking to get involved in departmental wellness events please contact Drs. Horowitz and Berggruen. If you would like to introduce a wellness program in your area mentors are also available to help make those improvements.
The Read | Volume 6 | Page 8
Department of Radiology
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