SASRO mentoring activities

Mentoring is a learning relationship, focused on long-term career development in which a mentor (generally a more senior or experienced person) shares their skills and experience with a mentee (generally a more junior person).

Although the relationship is generally aimed at developing the mentee's career, there are recognized benefits for both the mentor and the mentee.

In 2024, a Survey was sent to SASRO members to determine if there was a wish or a need for mentoring opportunities within the SASRO community.

57 members took part in the survey. The majority was interested in having mentoring opportunities with many believing that SASRO may be the right place to find a mentor/mentee.

More results can be found on the PDF document:

Mentoring Survey results

Here we provide some useful resources to help members establish a fruitful mentoring relationship.

The ESTRO early career committee proposes a formal yearly mentoring program (more information here ESTRO - ESTRO Organisation Structure)

On this webpage, you can find two useful videos:

First, get a clearer idea of what mentoring is and what it can bring you as a radiation oncology professional from Prof. Clifton (Dave) Fuller (presented at the ESTRO early career track) https://www.estro.org/ESTRO/media/ESTRO/About/Committees/Young/Clifton-Fuller.mp4

Then, Prof Kari Tanderup will make you think about what mentoring can be for you and what you may want to address through a mentoring relationship https://www.estro.org/ESTRO/media/ESTRO/About/Committees/Young/Kari-Tanderup.mp4

As Kari highlight, there are some simple rules to follow (even in an informal relationship):

  1. The relationship is about mentee’s development in their career
  2. The mentee is the person in focus and is responsible for agendas
  3. The mentor has the responsibility to be present at the meeting in body and mind
  4. The mentor is giving their experience, the mentee has the responsibility to transfer the learning into daily practice
  5. It is a good idea to sign a mentoring contract or agreement on the first meeting to align expectations. Stick to it or “renegotiate” it when needed

The agreement should state how often, how long, and where meetings are taking place. Who initiates them. What are the priorities, subjects to talk about and NOT to talk about. It should state the overall mentoring period (e.g. 1 year)

The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) has many resources available Mentor & Mentee Support Resources – CIMER. This includes

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