Going global: Society gets new International Mentorship Program

Jan 03, 2021 Re-posted from the January 2021 issue of Vascular Specialist

By Beth Bales

The International Relations Committee has launched a new International Mentorship Program to provide experienced SVS academic mentors for members outside the United States who do not have access to individuals who can assist them in professional growth.

Mentors will assist their mentees in clinical research design, abstract submission, manuscript preparation and scientific meeting presentations. Mentorship will not include specific patient care recommendations.

care recommendations. Outcomes of this effort include the mentee’s participation in presentations and publications, participation in the SVS International Scholars program and annual surveys sent to participants to evaluate process and success, says committee chair Palma Shaw, MD. “Continuous feedback can allow for improved process and outcomes,” she explains. “This effort will strengthen the visibility and interaction of the international membership, and generate academic productivity of higher quality. Interactions between the mentor and mentee can occur via Skype or other media platforms.”

The SVS website now includes an International Mentor Program toolbox for global members.

The tools include guidelines for standardized curriculum vitae (SUNY Upstate Medical University) and a quick guide to American Medical Association (AMA) citation style, Shaw reports. It also contains the Case Report Guidelines (CARE) checklist of information to include when writing a case report; guidelines for writing an abstract; the STROBE (Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology) statement on observational studies; as well as case‐control, cohort and cross‐ sectional studies, Shaw adds.

Furthermore, the CONSORT (Consolidated standards of reporting trials) 2010 statement—updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomized trials is in the toolbox, along with CONSORT for abstracts—a checklist; the PRISMA (Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses) checklist; practical non‐clinical skills for surgeons; a surgery trainee’s guide to writing a manuscript; and Journal of Vascular Surgery author information.

For information on the mentor program and toolbox, visit vsweb.org/ InternationalMentors

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