(Continued
from Page 1:
How to Choose a Patient Advocacy Mentor)
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Now you are
prepared to begin interviewing potential
mentors. You can
find a
list of potential mentors here.
Your overall focus will be to identify the
person who matches your needs list most closely,
and who you think you can create a positive, and
professional working relationship with. The
mentor-mentee relationship is one-on-one. You
need to get along and respect each other to make
it work.
Please note:
this is not the same as finding the person who
charges the least.
You may learn much more in a shorter (and less
expensive) period of time from the RIGHT mentor
than you will from the one who simply charges
less than others.
Here are the
questions to ask.
Feel free to add your own, of course: |
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• |
What is your background? What made you want to
be a private advocate? |
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• |
How long have you been in practice as a private
advocate? |
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• |
What is your mentoring strength? (and then, of
course, you’ll want to compare that to your list
of needs) |
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List the gaps you are trying to fill - and
discuss with the mentor how well he/she might be
able to fill those gaps. This list comes from
your needs assessment - #4 in your gap analysis. |
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• |
How much time do you think it would take us if I
promised to stay up with assignments? |
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• |
How much
would you charge me to help me with this list?
What are your payment terms? (For example, some
advocates will charge one up-front amount for a
certain number of hours. Others will be amenable
to being “on call” as you need them.) |
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• |
May I see a copy of your contract before I agree
to work with you? |
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• |
Where can I learn more about you? (Expect a
website or LinkedIn listing as your answer.) |
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• |
Would it be possible for me to connect with
other advocates you have mentored to ask them
about their experiences with you? |
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The best mentors will have a
list of questions for you, too. Answer them
honestly and realistically. So, for example, if
they ask about how much time you can commit
within one week, don’t promise three hours if
you have only 30 minutes. That doesn’t do either
of you any good.
Don’t make any commitments unless and until you
have already called the other mentors you intend
to call (you should try to call at least 2-3.)
Finally, make your choice, of course. And
- as a professional - you should also
provide feedback to
the mentors you do NOT choose. Send
each an email telling him/her why you decided
against their services. Your feedback may help
them improve their mentoring services to others. |
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