Learning online can be efficient and convenient, but it also can lack the advantages of human contact. Many courses have established competency requirements created by experts in the field. Many times, this includes some one-to-one mentoring so that you can directly learn from and interact with someone possessing experience in the subject. This is often a critical component of an active, high-quality learning environment and is therefore often offered as an optional activity even when competencies don’t require it. This mentored component can be done in person or, in some cases, remotely through Zoom/Skype/etc.; we hope and expect that this person will become a permanent part of your professional network.

A mentor should be a qualified expert in the topic of your NextGenU.org course — they might be a professor at your university, or a local practicing professional who is willing to spend some time teaching you, or someone remotely who you’ve identified through your networks. Please refer to the course page for specific mentor requirements, including any requirements for their level of training and practice.

If you are using NextGenU.org course materials for personal learning, you do not need to find a mentor. If you are taking a course for a certificate of completion or academic credit, and your course requires a mentor, we suggest checking with local experts in the field. We recommend checking whether someone at a nearby college/university, health clinic, hospital, business, or other organization would be willing to work with you. Alternatively, your local Health Department or Ministry of Health may be able to help you locate a mentor, or you can try searching for a mentor via an online networking or professional society website.

Thank you for wanting to serve as a mentor! You can let us know of your interest here. Mentoring can take a lot of different forms. You can supervise a medical student as they take care of patients; mentor an academician in training and co-publish (at NextGenU.org) a case study on an interesting patient; help a public health student by co-authoring a letter to the editor of a local paper. There are a variety of possible mentoring activities in our courses. Mentoring could also involve serving as a volunteer to remotely monitor chat rooms or supervise a learner via phone, text, chat, or video conference.