Mentoring Young Researchers: Can the Donald J Cohen Fellowships Model be Applicable and useful to Australasian Psychiatry?

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the experience with the Donald J Cohen Fellowship program of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) and examine whether this model may be applied by the RANZCP to attract and support young researchers in Australasia. Methods: The program at the September 2006 IACAPAP conference included 50 young researchers, 16 mentors and 8 ‘host fellows’, and consisted of exclusive poster sessions, daily small-group mentoring meetings, oral presentation of selected papers, and a summary and feedback session. Results: Informal feedback from mentors, mentees and conference organisers was very positive. Conclusions: A proposal about funding, participants and activities is presented. This suggests that a mentoring model similar to the Donald J Cohen Fellowship program can be easily conducted in Australasia. Implementing a program of this type would give College Fellows, the Australian Medical Council, the Commonwealth Government and other relevant organizations a clear message that the RANZCP is seriously committed to fostering and supporting research.