Supporting each other in our continuing professional development can take many forms including supervision, annual appraisals, performance management, preceptorship, coaching, peer-learning and mentoring (COT 2015).

Traditional mentoring schemes, where a senior person with expertise is paired with a mentee, often prove unsustainable. This has been the case at COT, where the demand for a mentor outweighed significantly those able to offer mentoring. The scheme was closed to new applicants in March 2016 with a view to scoping alternatives.

One such alternative is modern mentoring: http://www.riversoftware.com/resources/ModernMentoring_TJ_April15.pdf

The basic assumption with modern mentoring is that everyone has something to teach and everyone has something to learn. It is a form of open, social and collaborative learning. People meet in large groups to learn from and share insights with one another. There are no experts.

As the Lead for CPD@COT, and new in post since February, I’d like us to chat broadly and creatively on the topic of supporting each other to develop and grow. I’m particularly interested in thinking about what we currently do that works well, if there are specific points in our career where we feel additional support is best targeted, how we might overcome practical challenges to supporting each other and opinions on the potential role for COT in this process.

I look forward to chatting on Tuesday 24^th May 8pm-9pm

Stephanie @setG75

Reference:

The College of Occupational Therapists (2015) Supervision: guidance for occupational therapists and their managers. COT: London https://www.cot.co.uk/publication/z-listing/supervision (accessed 29th April 2016)

Hosted by:

Dr Stephanie Tempest @setG75

Education Manager for Professional Development

The College of Occupational Therapists