Short Take: Scientists Aren’t Trained to Mentor

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A recent opinion piece by Adam Rubin  in Science Magazine argued that advisors and mentors are not necessarily the same thing and that scientists who work with students in labs should have required mentoring training to more effectively support their students. Some scientists, he notes, are actively not interested in mentoring their students and don’t see it as part of their role; instead, they see students as somewhat menial workers who carry out the work of executing grant work. He uses Texas State as an example of a different type of approach, an institution where mandatory mentoring training is in place as well as funding for this training. Read the full piece here.

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