Sample Letters of Support for Mentoring Activity

Below are some suggested language that could be used in letters which identify the specific ways that mentoring could be measured.&

  1. Dear...

    This letter is written in support of xxxx M.D. for outstanding mentoring over her long career.  Personally, Dr. xxxx has been an important mentor in my career.  In my current role as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, I often apply what I learned from Dr. xxxx to my workshops on mentoring as well as to the ongoing mentoring I provide to others.  The impact of Dr. xxxx’s mentoring for me resulted in a strong desire on my part to mentor others and pass on what I learned from her.

    I have known Dr. xxxx for over twenty years.  She mentors me whenever I see her.  She is always thoughtful in her comments; she thinks about ways to assist fellows and faculty members in their career development.  She does this naturally and in an ongoing fashion.

    Dr. xxxx was always a role model for me during my fellowship.  She has talked to me frequently about the politics and culture of the University. She interpreted conversations that were going on all around to help me escape the usual misinterpretations that come with youth, nativity, and unchallenged idealism. By observing her, I learned a great deal about how to interact within the Department of Pediatrics.

    There were patient care issues that she talked to me about that I have passed on to other groups of students.  The wisdom with which she helped me understand, empathize, and to more appropriately work with families and children made a lasting impact on my ability to provide good clinical care.

    When I was beginning to look for faculty positions, she worked with me to clarify what I should negotiate for, how I should ask for various components of my contract and helped me to work through the different job offers that I had.  Over the years, she has continued to promote my career, always enthusiastic when she hears about my successes and wanting to make sure that others hear from her about my triumphs.


  2. This letter is written in support of the promotion of yyy M.D. to Professor.  I have known Dr. yyy for three years during which time she served as my mentor.  I believe that my interaction with Dr. yyy has been extensive enough to allow me to comment on her mentoring skill.

    Dr. yyy provided me with information on a variety of topics which allowed me to be more successful during my early years at UNM.  In particular, she worked with me to develop my library.  She advised me on the textbooks and journals which would be most important for me to review.  In addition, she reviewed with me the types of meetings I should go to and why.  She asked me what my goal was in attending national meetings.  She encouraged me to write abstracts for presentations and reviewed them with me to improve the information I was trying to share.  Because of her active involvement in my research development, I have been quite successful in having my abstracts accepted for presentation.


  3. Dr. zzz was always available to me for review of patient care.  Although he is not trained in my area of expertise, he was able to ask general questions about the care that I was providing that allowed me to improve the process I use to complete consultations.


  4. Dr. aaa attended my lectures and provided me with feedback in order to improve my presentations.  She was able to specifically address the places in my presentations which needed improvement.  After giving me advice, she would review with me the ways I changed my lecturers and then attend additional lectures to again review my presentations. 

    In addition, Dr. aaa discussed with me the ways that I could add new talks and presentations.  She discussed with me where I wanted to develop my area of expertise.  She encouraged me to move forward with developing new materials, always encouraging me to stay focused so as to demonstrate my impact on the abc block.


  5. Dr. bbb served as one of the group of mentors who have actively supported my career.  He clearly identified the area where he could support my career.  As we discussed issues, he worked with me to identify other mentors who could help with specific areas that were not in his area of expertise.  He actively sought me out to remind me about issues that were important to my early career.


  6. Dr. ccc was a wonderful resource to me in understanding the culture of the institution.  There were many times that I did not understand what was being discussed during faculty meetings.  He often sat next to me at meetings and would share with me his perspectives on why topics were discussed, why some faculty members would have very specific objections/support of the topic at hand.


  7. Dr. ddd was always available to review my grants.  He kept aware of the grant deadlines and reminded me frequently to stay on top of the progress.  Because of his active involvement in my grant writing, I have been more successful in obtaining funding.