What is a mentor?

A mentor is someone able to provide confidential support to one or more students whilst on placement. The role of the mentor is to act as a guide, supporter and sounding board, so as to help build the student’s self-confidence, initiative and resilience during their placement. A mentor does not need to be a dietitian. Mentors should not be directly involved in training the student, i.e. regular supervision, feedback and assessment.
  

Who is mentor training for? 

All mentors should complete the Mentor Training.
  

What does mentor training involve?

Mentor Training is online. It involves completing pre-course material (which should take up to 2 hours), followed by a webinar (about 45 minutes).  Access to the pre-webinar material is flexible but must be completed before the planned webinar session - the date and time of this webinar is provided on the right hand side of this page.  Full details of how to access the online material will be provided following registration.

The training provides a practical guide for those who have a mentoring role; such as how to undertake mentor meetings, confidentiality considerations and recognise the support services available. It also provides an opportunity to practice the communication skills necessary to facilitate effective mentoring, and to talk through management strategies for potential problems raised by the student during the mentoring process.

Before the training, pease check the Accessing training page to ensure that your IT is appropriately set up and that you are prepared for how the training will run. To complete the course and obtain your certificate of attendance, you will need to undertake all of the online Mentor training and attend the MS Teams webinar.