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Local FSNs | Services | Resources | Search | About Us | |||||||||||
As a mentee, you can receive one-on-one attention from a professional who has expertise and will support you with wisdom, resources, and reflection regarding your unique professional areas of needs. Your mentor can assist you in integrating knowledge or skills learned from other continuing education sources (such as conferences, workshops, or journals) into your current practice. A mentor can act as a sounding board, launch pad, or mirror in promoting your professional development in early intervention. In your mentorship, you will be asked to formulate specific goals for yourself. What do you really want to learn? In creating a learning environment specific to your learning needs, you can grow in a number of ways. Here
are some thoughts from mentees on what they liked most about the
Mentor Program:
"Expanding
my knowledge base & becoming a better clinician"
"Gaining
knowledge from someone with experience and being able to have
someone I could ask questions about certain kids and problems
or concerns. She was an excellent resource and was available most
any time"
"Working
with an experienced therapist and exchanging ideas, problem solving,
and brainstorming. It was also reassuring knowing that I had someone
to call or get her opinion in a situation where I was uncertain
about a treatment intervention or progression."
"The
Mentor Program was wonderful. I would never have been able to
work with the children without the guidance and support of Rebecca.
She is an excellent mentor. I may sign up again."
"I
had a strong desire to prepare myself to work with children,
and the mentoring program was so effective in helping me do
this. Working with Gail helped me to see the big picture as
well as develop specific skills that enabled me to work confidently
and more effectively with children...this program helped me
gain the foundational skills to serve children and their families...It
helped me to see things through her eyes as well as my own.
Thank you so much for this wonderful program!"
"I
felt that the mentoring relationship encouraged me and gave
me self-confidence in that what I was doing was okay. I gained
some valuable assessment tools as well."
As
a mentor,you can provide that support, sound advice, and expertise
to professionals who are feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or unsure
of their abilities. You can help them become connected to the community
resources available to them and the families they serve. You can
understand their struggles and help them see that they are on the
right track.
Mentorship can benefit you as much as it benefits your mentee. Mentorship is an opportunity for self-awareness and personal growth. You can refine your problem-solving skills, enhance leadership skills, and network with other professionals and community resources. Mentorship is a two-way street where both participants give and take, learn and grow; and enhance their professional skills. A mentee's questions, experiences, and concerns will encourage you to be up-to-date on best practice issues, early intervention system changes, and strategies to enhance family-centered services in your practice. Here
are some thoughts from mentors on what they liked most about the
Mentor Program:
"I
loved the interaction with my mentee and all of the preparation
that was done for each session was beneficial for me as well."
"I
enjoy the dialogue between professionals; fostering continued
work in Early Intervention, building skill level of people out
in the field via direct contacts."
"It
gave me a chance to train someone in an intimate focused way.
Also, gave me a chance to reflect on my pediatric practice and
evaluate the best practice strategies."
"So
many things - seeing mentee grasp and utilize current EI best
practice/ principles, and the ability to share."
"It
was great to have an enthusiastic, bright mentee who challenged
my thought processes. I always learn a great deal from students."
"The
opportunity to help a pediatric OT grow. We need good pediatric
OTs so badly here in eastern NC and to hear families rave about
her was great."
As a family member of a child with special needs, you have the choice of participating in the program as a Mentor or as a Family Resource. As a Mentor, you would work with a professional for up to 20 hours and have specific goals outlined that you and the mentee address. As a Family Resource, you would spend only up to 5 hours with a mentee and would not have to establish specific goals. Each mentee will have the opportunity to talk with a Family Resource about their experience of raising a child with special needs, participating in early intervention or preschool services, and collaborating with service providers. The mentee would like to know from the parent's perspective how professionals, such as themselves, could enhance the services provided to children. There are many important aspects of providing family-centered care that cannot be learned merely through reading a book or attending a class. Family Resources can teach the service provider many of these skills just by sharing their story and perspective of receiving services for their child. As a Family Resource or Mentor, you can truly enhance family-service provider collaboration by teaching service providers ways of better understanding and communicating with families.
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©
Family Support Network of North Carolina, 2003
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Map
and Directions to FSN-NC (Adobe PDF)
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