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The Training Environment

The OUHSC Graduate College aims to provide a rigorous and supportive environment where all trainees can reach their full potential.

We invite graduate programs, mentors, staff, and trainees to join us in a commitment to:

  • Safety
  • Ethics
  • Collegiality
  • Access, opportunity, and belonging for all
  • Professional development for trainees
  • Reasonable working hours and time off for illness and vacation

Institutional policies and values regarding the treatment of trainees are established in the Faculty Handbook, Student Handbook, and the OUHSC Strategic Plan.

To outline principles and behaviors for supportive research training environments, the Appropriate Treatment of Research Trainees (AToRT) guide was published in October 2021 by the Association of American Medical Colleges Working Group on Research, Education, and Training (AAMC-GREAT). The Guide also identifies behaviors that may compromise the training climate and trainees’ experiences. 

Mentors as Leaders and Role Models

As leaders and role models, mentors set the tone in their own research group and help shape the broader training environment in their program.

  • How do you demonstrate respect and civility toward your mentees and colleagues, both as researchers and as individuals?
  • What are your expectations of yourself as a mentor?
  • What are your expectations of mentees, and how do you communicate these expectations?
  • What strengths and unique perspectives does each mentee bring to your research?
  • What challenges has each mentee faced along the way?
  • Where might each mentee need additional support or guidance to be successful at this stage of training and in the career that they have chosen?
  • How can you foster each mentee’s professional development toward their own career goals?
  • How can you support access and opportunity for all of those with the talent and tenacity to succeed?  

Skill Development for Mentors and Mentees

The Graduate College partners with the Oklahoma Center for Mentoring Excellence to train mentors and mentees in skills that are fundamental to an effective mentoring relationship. Both the Mentor Training and Mentee Training satisfy the requirement for evidence-informed mentor/mentee training and assessment for NIH training grants. Training is available through campus-wide or program-specific offerings:

  • Three-part workshop series each fall and spring semester, open to all mentors (faculty and advanced trainees) and mentees (students, trainees, and junior faculty) at OUHSC. Each session is 1.5 – 2 hours long.
  • “Closed” workshop scheduled for specific program(s) or department(s). To schedule mentor or mentee training for your graduate program, contact Rebecka Bourn (rebecka-bourn@ouhsc.edu)