ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
FIGURE 2
Pre- and Post-Mentorship Program Confidence of Mentees in Competency Skills ( N = 13)
100
100
100
100
100
100
88
90
80
75
70
70
63
60
60
60
50
50
50
40
40
40
30
30
20
10
0
Food Safety
Vector/Pest Control
Permitting and Licensing
Outbreak Investigations
Professional Behavior
Interpersonal Skills
Written Communication
Human Relations
Competency Skill
Pre-Mentorship Program
Post-Mentorship Program
relevant and of interest to the mentees. Over- all, feedback showed that mentees found the webinars informative, well-organized, and delivered smoothly. Lastly, many mentees mentioned that they found the peer-to-peer learning beneficial. They also stated that comprehending the pro- cedures and processes in dierent geographic areas and locales and meeting new EH col- leagues were all beneficial. The virtual aspect of the mentorship pro- gram was beneficial due to the ease and flex- ibility of participation from anywhere, the ability to connect with mentees from dier- ent locales, and the content being readily accessible at any time. Mentors and mentees emphasized the importance of their relation- ship as the main success factor in the pro- gram, with mentees valuing understanding, communication, and respectful interactions.
Mentors provided expert guidance and men- tees appreciated learning from experienced professionals in the field. Recommendations Most of the suggested program improve- ments are straightforward. To enhance the webinars, it would be beneficial to provide more in-depth and advanced coverage of topics and use real-world scenarios for bet- ter learning and practical application of skills to address field-related issues. While the mentees expressed satisfaction with the LMS, there were some recommendations to improve its functionality and ease of use and to provide additional training on its features. One challenge that was identified was the lack of engagement from some mentees, who felt that the experience would have been more enriching if everyone had been more
actively involved. Drawing from our expertise in developing and implementing mentorship and leadership programs, we recommend including more activities to stimulate con- versations, increase mentee comfort levels, and raise mentor awareness about how to be responsive to each individual as well as to group dynamics. Other recommendations included reducing the frequency of emails, creating a chat group for better communica- tion, incorporating more group activities, and addressing language barriers by providing more content in Spanish. Based on the findings and feedback received, we highly recommend considering an online mentorship program for leader- ship- and inspector-level workforces in EH and other fields, especially when faced with in-person challenges in the future. The ben- efits of a virtual program are even more evi-
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Volume 86 • Number 6
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