High School Alliance (HSA) Mentoring Program – Interprofessional Lunches
Proposed By: Senator Duy Ha / Academic Affairs Committee
SSP07AA14
Summary:
Currently there is no longer a mentoring program for HSA high school students and we want to re-establish this important outreach program. UNMC Senate will work HSA staff members to organize and structure the program to best meet the needs of both mentees and UNMC student mentors. The key component that Senate would be supporting is the interprofessional lunch sessions that will allow mentees to have access not only to their mentors, but other mentors from different colleges. Such an opportunity allows mentees to have a wide range of exposures to different biomedical and health related fields at UNMC, and allows mentors from different professions to interact and learn about one another’s profession. Furthermore, the lunches will occur on different parts of colleges, with opportunities for everyone to learn what it is like to be a professional in a particular biomedical and health related field.
Goals:
1) Provide an open and engaging environment for UNMC student mentors from different colleges and mentees to explore many biomedical and health related fields at UNMC
2) Provide partial compensation to the UNMC student mentor for the cost of meals at the proposed vendor locations on campus to encourage and facilitate participation of both mentors and mentees
Stakeholders:
1) UNMC Student Body
2) UNMC Student Senate
3) UNMC HSA Program
4) Interprofessional Society (IPS)
Detailed Proposal:
-Lunches will occur once a month at Noon - 1PM from September 2014 – May 2015 (9 total)
-Lunches will occur on the first Mondays of the month (HSA students have designated free time for career development on Mondays) and a schedule will be sent out for mentors and mentees to plan accordingly if they wish to participate
-Mentors/mentees will RSVP online for the particular sessions, managed by HSA and IPS
-Locations will be spread out among 9 different professional colleges where HSA will provide lunches prepared ahead of time by Sodexo or outside food vendors
-Senators and IPS members will be responsible for setting up and signing in participants
-Senate will reimburse $21 ($7 per meal) to UNMC student mentors who attend up to 3 of the 9 sessions with their mentees, which will be a requirement of the HSA Mentoring Program
-HSA will doubly match the contributions ($42) for the remaining 6 sessions that can be either one-on-one or at these interprofessional group lunches (not factored into our budget), since mentors are required to meet with their mentees once a month in the HSA Program
-A maximum of 55 mentors will participate, given the maximum number of high school students will be 55, so there will be a cap to Senate expenditures
-At each lunch event, there will tables with clearly labeled banners and/or balloons that will bring visibility to UNMC Student Senate, the HSA Program, and the Interprofessional Society
-There may also be opportunities for HSA students to receive tours of particular colleges nearby the lunch areas, especially in buildings that HSA students do not frequently visit
Budget:
$1155 = 21 X 55 (max # of mentors)
-Additional compensation to UNMC Student mentors for the additional 6 required mentoring sessions will be separately managed by HSA and as such, are not presented
$45 Laminated Signs that are reusable and Balloons
Total = $1200 Budget will come from Student Fee monies
-HSA will determine the number of lunches attended by UNMC Student mentors and Senate will reimburse that total amount to HSA while will provide compensation to UNMC student mentors through the Academic Affairs accounting office.
Proposed Benefits:
-Allow participants to learn about the many different biomedical and health related professions
-For the mentors it creates an interprofessional opportunity to interact with future colleagues
-For mentees, if offers a chance to network, explore multiple fields, and learn from future biomedical and health care professionals
-Group settings may make mentees more comfortable to engage with peers and mentors
-Re-establish an important program that has been beneficial in the past. Below is an excerpt from an email of an incoming nursing student who previously participated in the HSA Mentoring Program. We want all future HSA participants to also have an opportunity to be mentored by current UNMC students like this student did:
“I am so excited about making it into UNMC nursing program - the one and only place I wanted to be! It is so good knowing where I will be next year and being familiar with the campus. The UNMC HSA Program gave me so much incite that I feelvery comfortable with my decision on going into healthcare. I just wanted you to know that what you are doing does make a difference! You and the rest of the HSA team have made an immense impact on my life and for the rest of my career”
Anticipated Issues Risks Complaints:
1) Liability that is always associated with mentoring minors
2) Dates chosen may not work for mentors/mentees
3) May be a logistical nightmare
Rebuttal to Issues Risks Complaints:
1) Liability is greatly reduced by hosting all activities on campus in a group settings – additionally Senators, IPS Members, and/or HSA administrators will be present
2) Dates will work for mentees, and note that mentors only have to make 33% of the formal interprofessional lunches that will occur throughout the whole year, which allows for flexibility to prepare to attend these sessions
3) Both Senate and HSA have coordinated challenging events and IPS will also participate in coordinating the lunches. Recently, HSA became a part of the Vice Chancellor’s Academic Affairs office so additional staff support can be sought out if needed
Date Approved by Academic Affairs Committee: 04/16/14 Passed 11-0-0
Date Approved by Executive Committee: Wednesday 23rd 2014
Date Approved/Denied by Committee: □ Approved □ Denied