UR Mentor LAB

UR Mentor LAB: Learn. Aspire. Build.

What is UR Mentor LAB?

UR Mentor LAB is a group peer mentoring strategy consisting of small groups of faculty led by a facilitator who meet regularly for mentoring sessions. This model has been shown to effectively promote faculty vitality, career progression, and leadership skills, while also supporting goals of all members of the faculty communities. To make peer mentoring scalable, we will be offering a Facilitator In Training (FIT) program at the University of Rochester modelled after the successful UR Mentor LAB FIT Program at Weill Cornell.

What is the Facilitator in Training (FIT) Program?

UR Mentor LAB FIT is a longitudinal training program running from September 2025 to June 2027 that will teach academic faculty the facilitation skills to effectively lead UR Mentor LAB groups. In Year 1, FITs will first experience the uniquely developed UR Mentor LAB group curriculum, which focuses on career goal clarification and planning, mentoring/coaching, leadership skills and vitality (total of 4 full days). Throughout the year,  FITs will receive ongoing essential facilitation skills training (total of 3.5 days). In year 2, FITs will be paired with a co-FIT, and co-lead a UR Mentor LAB group to deliver 4 days of UR Mentor LAB curriculum. There will be ongoing essential facilitation skills training in year 2. FITs who successfully complete year 1 and year 2 will start co-leading UR Mentor LAB group independently in Year 3.

The training will be led by facilitator-trainers Drs. Swana De Gijsel and Kimberly Bloom-Feshbach who created a facilitated UR Mentor LAB program at Weill Cornell Medical College and have experience in training UR Mentor LAB facilitators, working with principles of inclusion, and helping healthcare organizations to change culture in positive ways. Kimberly and Swana are also facilitators on the faculty with VitalTalk and the Academy of Communication in Healthcare, respectively.

See UR Mentor LAB FIT Program for more information.



For questions contact us at URMentorLABadmin@urmc.rochester.edu