Staff Clinician Pathways

NIH Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program

The inaugural class of ‘Staff Clinician Pathways’, the NIH Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program, was in 2023. This program was created by fellow Staff Clinicians and members of the Staff Clinician Council with support from the Office of Faculty Development. It is yearlong program designed to foster professional development and career growth for Staff Clinicians across the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP). Our goal is to strengthen our Clinical Faculty community by encouraging a growth mindset and building connections between Staff Clinicians across different ICs. By connecting our Clinical Faculty across the NIH IRP, we can better share our strengths and ensure everyone has access to the resources they need to thrive.

Enrollment is typically limited to about 10 Assistant Research Physician per year, each of whom is paired with two mentors, with one or both mentors being in a different IC. In the Office of Faculty Development, we believe that cross-IC mentorship is a strength of the program and allows for multi-disciplinary mentoring. Moreover, this provides support for Clinical Faculty outside of their supervisory chain and builds a cohesive community across the IRP. Mentors are traditionally Senior Staff Clinicians or Senior Clinicians with experience in the mentee’s stated areas of research interest, education, or clinical care. Mentees and mentors participate in four introductory mentoring sessions and meet 2-3 times over the course of the following year to create a Career Development Plan.

Program Details for Both Mentees and Mentors

• Commit to meeting with your mentee and the other paired mentor jointly at least twice during the program
• Mentees are required to attend the program-wide sessions
• Mentors are required to participate in program-wide sessions in their first year as a Pathways mentor

These requirements allow for everyone to have a common understanding of the program goals and helps to achieve a cohesive community.

For Potential Mentees

Are you an Assistant Research Physician or do not yet have an NIH Clinical Faculty Staff Clinician title? We would be thrilled to invite you to submit an interest questionnaire here to participate in the 2026 – 2027 Staff Clinician Pathways NIH Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program class. Please reach out to Parker Ruhl (parker.ruhl@nih.gov), Associate Director of Clinical Faculty Affairs, OIR, if you have any quesitons.

For Potential Mentors

If you are interested in being a mentor or would like to nominate a colleague to be a mentor, we would be delighted to include you as a potential mentor in our next round of mentee-mentor matching. Mentors contribute to the program by helping mentees achieve their career aspirations, sharing experiences, and fostering meaningful interactions. Please reach out to Parker Ruhl (parker.ruhl@nih.gov), Associate Director of Clinical Faculty Affairs, OIR, if you are interested in becoming a mentor.