In 2009, the ASA Committee on Professional Diversity (CPD) created the ASA Mentoring Grant. The CPD was chaired by Gregory Kerr, MD, MBA, and the inaugural director of the grant program was Karen Williams, MD. This grant was intended to foster career development within ASA through mentorship. The mentees learned the administrative, executive, educational, and advocacy processes of ASA.

Within the first 10 years of the program, there were 70 grants distributed. Over the years, the program has grown significantly, and in just the last five years, over 100 grants have been awarded.

The mentees have consisted of medical students, residents, fellows, or junior faculty members. The projects were funded primarily by ASA, and in recent years by corporate sponsors, with a maximum allocation of $5,000 to recipients. The grants have encompassed a wide area of topics: scientific/clinical research, advocacy/organizational design, and educational endeavors.

As the program has grown, the CPD has seen myriad projects grow beyond the scope of just a one-year project. Many have created lasting programs and pathway programs that continue to showcase and highlight the specialty. The following are some highlighted ASA Mentoring Grant recipients.

M. Angele Theard, MD

Dayle Hodge, MD, MS, PhD

Our program began with establishing a partnership with Building Blocks 2 Success (BB2S), a community outreach program in Portland, Oregon, whose mission is to “inspire underrepresented youth to enter STEM fields” (bb2s.org). With the goal of helping to support a pathway to medicine program, the ASA Mentoring Grant Program provided neuroanesthesiologist Dr. Angele Theard and her mentee, Dr. Dayle Hodge, an opportunity to partner with BB2S to introduce middle and high school students to health care careers through engaging workshops and mentorship.

At the start of the first session, the initial goal was to build rapport with the students. Drs. Theard and Hodge recruited Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) medical students from primarily underrepresented backgrounds to help discuss their journeys to medicine. The students shared stories of their sometimes-difficult trajectories and the life skills they developed en route to success. By demystifying the medical school application process and providing role models, the participants not only began to see medicine as a potential career, but they were also connected to long-term mentors who could provide guidance. At the conclusion of our sessions, the students (ranging from 6th to 12th grade) demonstrated increased knowledge of biomedical sciences, physiology, and desire to enter health care.

Last year, we shared our experience and findings at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2023 in San Francisco, and this year, the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at OHSU will cosponsor these educational workshops on a quarterly basis, providing an opportunity for interested residents to serve as preceptors. Dr. Hodge, a recent Research Fellowship Grant recipient from the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research, will finish his anesthesiology residency and research fellowship this June and will stay on as faculty at OHSU starting in fall 2024 (asamonitor.pub/4397CW3).

As faculty, his goals will be to grow the outreach program by recruiting additional residents and medical students, develop new curricula in partnership with BB2S and local universities, and expand to other Portland-area schools. In an effort to close gaps in pathway to medicine programming, we look forward to some of these and other students with continued interest in medicine being invited to apply for an opportunity to participate in MPPTM, a yearlong holistic medical school application preparatory program for undergraduate students supported by the Committee on Professional Diversity and ASA (medicalmentor.org/our-programs/).

Allison Fernandez, MD, MBA

I was several years out of training and started feeling dissatisfied, overlooked, and burnt out. I was working very hard clinically and academically but did not feel that I was successful. Why did I feel that way? I have a wonderful family, great colleagues, and I love my job. So why do I feel so unsuccessful? In talking with my peers, I realized that others had similar sentiments. Every day was a constant struggle to keep your family life on track and your career on track. My emotional and mental load was at full capacity. Recognizing that academic promotion is arduous, especially with a lack of mentorship and sponsorship, had me really start thinking. I began to form an idea about how to share the experience of being a woman in the field of anesthesiology – navigating career and family life and maintaining your own personal well-being.

A few weeks later, an email from the ASA Committee on Professional Diversity seeking research grant submissions arrived in my inbox. An idea came to mind to create a video documentary – “Women of Impact in Anesthesiology” – capturing the experiences of successful women in the field of anesthesiology. This forum would allow the women to be candid about their career and personal journeys, obstacles, and achievements. I first sought out a mentor, Linda Mason, MD, FASA, who loved my idea and agreed to be my sponsor. Months later, I was awarded the grant – an important feat for me as it gave me the encouragement I needed. Working on the series “Women of Impact in Anesthesiology,” I have gained insight and strength from the women I interviewed (asahq.org/education-and-career/women-of-impact). They have lifted my spirits and so have the women who meet me in the ASA meeting halls to tell me how much they love the series.

Vilma Joseph, MD, MPH, FASA

In 2017, Dr. Jacquelyn Francis, an anesthesiology resident, was a recipient of a mentoring grant along with her mentor, Dr. Vilma Joseph. Their project highlighted minority women pioneers in the field of anesthesiology. The results of this mentorship resulted in a publication that chronicled pioneers, from the first board-certified U.S. African American women anesthesiologists to the first board-certified Native American women in anesthesiology from the Wampanoag Tribe (International Anesthesiology Clinics 2018;126:5674-95).

The matched mentee/mentor pair should submit the application form, their individual curriculum vitaes, and a one- to two-page description of their project to the ASA Committee on Professional Diversity no later than June 30, 2024. The submission should include a detailed description of the project’s objective and methods along with an explanation of how it will enhance the professional growth and leadership potential of the mentee.

For a full list of eligibility requirements, please view the application online at asahq.org/about-asa/asa-awards-and-programs/asa-mentoring-program.