Appendix C: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Mentoring Guide Subsection

The NIH guide is divided into six sections within which specific recommendations are made.

1. The Supervisors, Mentors, and Trainees section defines

   • a mentor as "a person who has achieved career success and counsels and guides another for the purpose of helping him or her achieve like success";
   • a research supervisor, who should "always be a mentor ... with the responsibility to discuss with and advise a trainee on aspects of his or her work and professional development"; and,
   • a postdoctoral trainee, who "should learn to train and guide others, for example, by working with more junior individuals ... or training students."

2. The section entitled Training in Scientific Investigation addresses the importance of identifying a "first-rate" research project.

3. Training in Communication emphasizes the importance of oral and written communication both within the scientific community and the institutional campus.

4. Training in Personal Interactions discusses the need to learn negotiation, persuasion and diplomatic skills.

5. Career Planning encourages fellows at NIH to consider career pathways almost as soon as arriving at the Institute and discusses how senior researchers can assist.

6. The Training in Scientific Responsibility section commands all supervisors, mentors and training institutions to ensure that all trainees learn the "legal and ethical aspects of conducting research" and develop a "sense of responsibility for the use of public resources available to them."

The entire NIH Guide may be found on the Web at http://www1.od.nih.gov/oir/sourcebook/ethic-conduct/mentor-guide.htm.

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