AUA OCE for Transformative Health Solutions Hosts Mentorship Initiative Webinar
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YEREVAN, Armenia — On February 1, 2022, the American University of Armenia (AUA) Open Center for Transformative Health Solutions hosted an Initiative Webinar featuring Dr. Kevin Frick, world-renowned health economist and professor at Johns Hopkins University. The webinar brought together over 50 participants, including AUA students, alumni, faculty, and staff, as well as stakeholders from different spheres of interest at local and international levels. The topic of the webinar was Mentoring — Developing a Transformational Relationship for the Mentor and Mentee and discussed the elements that can turn mentoring from a transactional into a transformational experience.
Dr. Frick is a professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School with joint appointments in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Departments of Health Policy and Management and International Health. He is a core faculty member of the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative and the Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research. He has served on the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research Study Section and the National Institute for Nursing Research Advisory Council. As Vice Dean for Education of the Carey Business School, he helped the school achieve initial Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation, develop online educational offerings, restructure the full-time MBA program, and establish a range of experiential learning opportunities.
During the webinar, Dr. Frick presented research-based best practices along with stories from his experience to illustrate ways of connecting with mentees and facilitating the personal development and growth of both the mentor and mentee.
With over 20 years of experience in mentorship, Dr. Frick underscored some of the most important aspects of high-quality mentoring, including active listening, empathy, boundary setting, authenticity, empowerment, reflection, and curiosity. He also explained in detail and provided useful tips on how to practice each of those skills while mentoring.
“Use experience, wisdom, and thoughtfulness to support judgment in how the response is given… I’m not judging them or their decisions, but I use my judgment,” stressed Dr. Frick.
Dr. Frick also described some of the common approaches to finding a mentor and to benefiting the most from mentorship programs and experiences. The lecture was followed by an active discussion on applying the skills presented in practice by both mentors and mentees.
This event was a continuation of the series of Initiative Seminars, which constitute the pivotal meeting places for people representing research, education, innovation, business, and society. The seminars duly address questions challenging for humanity, important for a sustainable future, and relevant to the interests of the invited audience.
The Open Center for Transformative Solutions hosted two Initiative Seminars last year focusing on Challenges and Opportunities in Drug Development: Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Innovation and Developing and Adapting Complex Health and Social Interventions. The next Initiative Webinar scheduled for March 4, 2022 will focus on Academic Work in Advocacy.
The Open Center for Transformative Health Solutions provides transdisciplinary education and collaborative experiences and stimulates collaborations outside the traditional public health disciplines to develop solutions to complex health problems modern societies face.
The AUA Turpanjian College of Health Sciences works actively to improve population health and health services in Armenia and the region through interdisciplinary education and development of health professionals to be leaders in public health, health services research, and evaluation, health care delivery, and management.