AOM's IBPOC Mentorship program

 AOM's IBPOC Mentorship Program FAQ

Who can be a mentor or mentee?

Mentees and Mentors are Canadian IBPOC midwives and midwifery students.

How does the matching process work? 

This IBPOC mentorship program is hosted on the online platform, Together Mentoring, where participants create a profile and respond to questions developed by the Health-Care Equity, Quality and Human Rights department to support the pairing process. The platform automatically identifies potential matches based on participants' responses to the questions. Mentees are then required to contact mentors shortlisted by the platform based on both parties responses. Both parties must accept the match request before mentoring/pairing begins. Mentors and mentees can decide how often and where (i.e., which platform) they connect. 

Can I be matched to anyone of my choice?

Best efforts will be made to match mentors and mentees based on their preferences. However, due to the small number of IBPOC midwives and midwifery students in the profession, mentees and mentors are not guaranteed to be assigned to someone who meets all of their preferences.

Will the AOM be involved in my mentorship experience?

While the AOM has created and hosts this mentorship program, the AOM is not responsible for agreements, goals, discussions, expectations, and outcomes of the mentorship experience. Please apply best practices when engaging with others on this platform. This includes honoring each other’s boundaries, being respectful, and communicating with compassion and a willingness to collaborate.

How will my personal information be used?

By participating in this program as a registered mentor/mentee you are consenting to share your personal, sensitive and identifiable information with Together Mentoring, which is the platform and software the AOM is using to run this mentorship program. Read Together Mentoring's privacy policy.

To provide feedback about this program, your experience, concerns or any questions, please contact heqhr@aom.on.ca.

IBPOC Mentorship Program Privacy and Confidentiality Disclaimer

The AOM's IBPOC Mentorship Program is intended to be "hands off" - meaning the AOM will not actively be involved in your mentorship arrangement or in attendance of your sessions nor what is shared during these sessions. This mentorship program is provided on the Together Mentoring Platform and as such, their User Terms and Privacy Policy apply. While the AOM provides some guidelines on the mentorship process, resources to help you navigate your journey, and technical support, we do not monitor discussions or agreements between pairings. Both mentee and mentor are entering this relationship at their own discretion and with full autonomy to decide whether they accept an identified match, frequency and duration of sessions identified goals, duration and cessation of the match, what is exchanged between mentor and mentee, etc. The AOM recognizes the importance of confidentiality and privacy throughout this process and encourages participants of the program to respect one another's privacy and confidentiality during the mentorship journey. This entails adhering to the following principles:

1. Maintaining Discretion and Respect Consent: Do not share personal or professional details shared in confidence without receiving explicit permission from the mentor/mentee. This includes sharing information with third parties, including colleagues, supervisors, classmates or faculty/staff about your mentor/mentee that are discussed during mentorship sessions.
2. Secure Communication: Ensuring that all communications, whether verbal, written, or electronic, are conducted in a secure and private manner to prevent unauthorized access.
3. Maintain Professional Standards: Refrain from discussing sensitive and identifiable information about midwifery clients in accordance with the CMO Professional Standards for Midwives.
4. Ongoing Commitment: Continuously prioritizing and upholding the principles of privacy and confidentiality throughout the duration of the mentorship relationship, and even after its conclusion.

By adhering to these principles, we can create a safe and trusting environment conducive to meaningful mentorship experiences.

Guide for Effective Mentorship

This guide provides tips for being an effective mentor/mentee. See here for the Guide for Effective Mentorship (Version Française).

Template Mentorship Agreement between Mentor and Mentee

This is a template agreement that mentors and mentees can use to determine how their mentoring relationship can look. This is one of the resources provided by the AOM to support participants with their mentorship experience. See here for the Mentorship Agreement between Mentor and Mentee.