ARCS Mentorship Training

As the coordinator of the mentorship programme for The Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS), I hosted an ARCS Mentorship Training morning for our mentors with the enigmatic Tom Bamber, an experienced facilitator and coach trainer.

Mentoring and coaching go hand-in-hand, as Tom said, “you don’t need to know about mentoring to be a good coach; but you do need to be good at coaching to be a great mentor” – it is so important for our mentors to take on a coaching mindset to support their mentees. That means building rapport, being clear about your boundaries, maintaining unconditional positive regard and valuing questions over giving advice. Using coaching skills to support professional development is close to my heart after volunteering on the coaching and mentoring service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital. As part of my apprenticeship, I coached physiotherapists, consultants, administrative staff and nurses to realise their best potential and discovered the power of incisive questions, building rapport and active listening.

Now I am privileged to help ARCS members to bring this support to Reproductive Scientists so more people can experience the value of having a mentor by your side as you take the next steps in your career.