Career Advising Program (CAP)
The Women & Medicine Commission’s Career Advising Program (CAP) is a longitudinal sponsorship initiative to help junior and mid-career women faculty successfully navigate academic advancement opportunities by connecting these members with senior “Career Sponsors” throughout SGIM (i.e., Associate or Full Professors). Sponsoring activities focus on CV preparation, targeted committee membership, and strategies for relationship-building for career advancement.
Why is Sponsorship important?
Sponsorship is different from mentorship. Sponsorship focuses on promoting a more junior individual into leadership roles, high impact committees, or other competitive opportunities. It requires the sponsor (advisor) to put their influence and credibility on the line for the person being sponsored (advisee) and can increase the advisee’s visibility and professional networks.
In other words, “A coach talks to you, a mentor talks with you, and a sponsor talks about you.”
Mission Statement: The Career Advising Program (CAP) is dedicated to promoting the advancement of women physicians by connecting them with dedicated sponsors who will promote their successes, expand their professional networks, and champion them among academic colleagues.
Target Sponsors (Advisors): All SGIM members who are Associate or Full Professors with an interest in the advancement of women in medicine. Someone with organizational or institutional influence who can advocate on behalf of a more junior colleague into career advancing opportunities.
Target Sponsees (Advisees): Women Associate or Assistant Professors, Instructors, and Fellows/Chief Residents who are interested in academic promotion or career advancement and can benefit from more senior faculty member promoting them for career advancing opportunities. Sponsees may also be referred to as proteges.
Required Commitment is two years with at least bi-annual contact between sponsors (advisors) and sponsees (advisees) via email, phone, virtually, or in-person. SGIM membership must be maintained by the advisee during the duration of the program. Additionally, we expect advisor-advisee pairs to meet face-to-face (virtual or in-person) at least once during the two-year commitment. The Women & Medicine Commission hosts a reception for all CAP participants every year at SGIM’s Annual Meeting, and we hope our advisors and advisees can connect then as well. To continue to improve the CAP program, we may reach out to you periodically after you complete the CAP program. Ap
Here is how CAP will ensure your relationship is successful:
- Webinar trainings for sponsors (advisors) and sponsees (advisees) to grow skills necessary for successful sponsorship and academic advancement.
- Communicating with advisees to facilitate maintaining relationships with their advisors through regular email or virtual contact. It is the advisee's responsibility to maintain this relationship.
- Supporting advisors through regular follow up to see how the advisor-advisee relationship is progressing.
We are considering utilizing a model which pairs one sponsor (advisor) to two sponsee (advisee) for the 2023-2025 CAP Cohort. This would expand CAP’s capacity for matches and provide advisees with the opportunity to serve as near-peer sponsors.
The CAP Chair and the CAP Chair-Elect will create advisor-advisee matches based on application information.