85. A Virtual Platform for Mentoring Clinician Educators at IDWeek is as Effective as In-Person

Background Career mentorship for clinician educators (CE) may be difficult to obtain within one’s home institution. During IDWeek 2018 and 2019, a mentoring program pairing junior faculty pursuing careers as CEs with more experienced CEs from other institutions was found to be feasible and effective. During IDWeek 2020, the program was transitioned to a virtual format. We assessed the feasibility and efficacy of this virtual mentoring program. Methods Junior and established CEs were recruited through the IDSA listserv and Medical Education Community of Practice and paired. Mentees completed an individual development plan (IDP) and identified discussion topics for their meeting. Mentors received training on successful mentoring and their mentee’s IDP and CV prior to meeting. Mentor and mentees met via videoconference for one hour during IDWeek 2020, created an action plan, and scheduled a follow-up call. Post-participation surveys were sent to mentees and mentors. Results 30 mentor and mentee pairs were matched; 1 pair did not meet. Compared to IDWeek 2018 (17) and 2019 (20), the 2020 program had more mentees (30). 24 (80%) mentees completed the pre-session survey; 17 (59%) mentees and 20 (69%) mentors completed the post-session survey. When compared to survey results from mentees in 2018-19 who met in-person, mentees in the virtual format reported similarly high rates of satisfaction, planned to make changes at work, had an increase in confidence, and felt it was a valuable experience (Table 1). Mentors also reported high rates of satisfaction with the experience in 2020 and were likely to participate in the program next year (Table 2). Only 1 (6%) mentee reported that the virtual format negatively impacted their experience, although 6 (30%) mentors reported some negative impact of the virtual format (Table 3). Table 1. Post-session mentee survey responses across 2 in-person years (2018, 2019) compared to the virtual mentoring program (2020) Table 2. Post-session mentor survey responses across 2 in-person years (2018, 2019) compared to the virtual mentoring program (2020) Table 3. Experience of mentees and mentors with the 2020 virtual mentoring program Conclusion A virtual mentoring program for CEs was feasible and as effective for mentees as an in-person format. Some mentors felt that the virtual nature did negatively impact the experience although it had minimal negative impact on mentees. Disclosures David J. Riedel, MD, MPH , Gilead (Advisor or Review Panel member)ViiV (Advisor or Review Panel member) Vera Luther, MD, Nothing to disclose Wendy Armstrong, MD, Nothing to disclose Brian Schwartz, MD, Nothing to disclose