Osteobridge: ACOFP Mentorship Program

Applications are now open
Student doctors talking

ACOFP IS PROUD TO INTRODUCE A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR BOTH

MENTORS & MENTEES

Why Mentoring

Are you looking for:

  • Trusted guidance to help shape your personal and professional journey in osteopathic family medicine?
  • A safe, supportive space to explore challenges, goals, and opportunities with someone who understands the path ahead?
  • A meaningful way to give back—by helping the next generation thrive in the profession?
  • An opportunity to strengthen your communication and leadership skills through connection and shared growth?

The ACOFP Osteobridge Mentoring Program is designed to support the personal and professional growth of aspiring osteopathic family physicians. By pairing mentees with experienced, trusted mentors, the program fosters relationships that promote career development, confidence, and connection to the broader osteopathic community.

Mentors serve as guides—offering encouragement, perspective, and practical advice to help mentees navigate their training, career decisions, and leadership goals. Whether you're seeking insight into professional challenges, exploring new opportunities, or hoping to gain clarity on your next step, the mentoring relationship offers a valuable space for reflection and direction.

What does mentoring mean?

Mentoring is a developmental relationship where a more experienced individual helps support the growth of someone newer to the field. While mentoring is often one-on-one, it may also take place in small groups or communities of support. At its core, mentoring is rooted in trust, shared knowledge, and a commitment to helping others succeed.

Mentors may support mentees by:

  • Providing insight into clinical practice and professional pathways
  • Offering strategies for career planning or skill development
  • Recommending tools, resources, or learning opportunities
  • Discussing ethical dilemmas and approaches to decision-making
  • Navigating workplace challenges and professional transition

Whether you're early in your training or well into your career, mentoring with ACOFP is a powerful way to stay connected to the values that guide osteopathic family medicine: compassion, collaboration, and community.

Why is mentoring important?

The Osteobridge Mentoring Program is an important component for developing and sustaining satisfying professional careers of osteopathic family physicians.

Participants in mentoring programs report a number of benefits from their participation: improved confidence, self-awareness, clearer career direction, better communication skills, listening skills, feedback skills, more assertive communication, and enhanced management skills. 

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Benefits of the program

For mentees, some of the common benefits of mentoring include: 

  • Exploring issues and concerns in a supportive and confidential relationship 
  • Obtaining experienced guidance and support  
  • Learning from the experience of others 
  • Exploring your career development plan 
  • Receiving feedback and developmental guidance 
  • Networking and learning about effective networking 

Mentoring programs do not just benefit the mentees. Mentors find tremendous learning and development opportunities of their own. Some of the benefits that are frequently reported for mentors include: 

  • Contributing back to the profession and gaining personal satisfaction by making a difference to someone else 
  • Learning and developing mentoring skills, and enriching leadership and interpersonal skills. 
  • Gaining intellectual challenge by working on issues outside day-to-day experience  
  • Discover fresh perspectives that may assist with their own work 
  • Increasing profile and expanding professional networks 

Who Can Apply

Mentees:

  • ACOFP member
  • Residents or new physicians-in-practice (5 years or less)
  • Must commit to the full program, attend regular meetings, participate in events/surveys, and engage monthly

Mentors:

  • ACOFP member
  • Physicians or new physicians-in-practice (5 years or less)
  • Must commit to the program length, monthly meetings, and participate in events/surveys

Both mentees and mentors must also be willing to complete the online training provided, review the support resources available, and engage completely in the relationship process, connecting with your mentee/mentor at least monthly. 

Application Process

  • Complete the brief application form by June 30.
  • Mentees will be asked about their background and goals; mentors will indicate areas they feel comfortable mentoring in. This helps ensure the best match.
  • Match notifications will be sent by the week of July 21.
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FAQS

The 2025 - 2026 mentoring program will run for six months, July 2025 - January 2026.

Applicants must be members of ACOFP and meet the program eligibility criteria.

Residents, new physicians-in-practice, and physician members are eligible to apply. 

The program is completely free to participants, thanks to the generous support of the ACOFP Foundation’s Family Medicine Forward Campaign and its donors. 

For the 2025 program, a maximum of 50 mentees will be matched with 50 mentors. Please complete your application as soon as possible if you wish to take part.
Complete the online application form. The information you provide will help us ‘match’ the right mentee with the right mentor, based on experience, skills, and what you both want to achieve from the program 
You should hear from us by the third week of July to whether you have been matched and the next steps to take. 

We will endeavor to match all mentees who complete the application, given that we have a suitable mentor. Some mentors may not be matched if their expertise/ experience is not suitable for any applicants. If we don’t have a suitable match for a mentor, we won’t pair you for the sake of putting you in the program. 

If a suitable match is not available, you may be able to apply or transfer to future programs. 

If your application is successful, you will need to attend three events: Program Launch, Mid-Program Review, and Program Close, all of which will be delivered via Webinars. Please see the key dates table. 

You will also be asked to complete the Art of Mentoring online training. The training will take 60 – 90 minutes and will help provide you with the knowledge and skills to have a successful mentoring relationship. 

It will be up to each pair to establish their own timetables for their one-on-one meetings, which should take place at least monthly throughout the program. 

Absolutely!  Great mentoring relationships are based first and foremost on trust. Your participation in the program is confidential, and you will agree with your mentoring partner on how you will handle confidentiality between you. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about the program, please visit the mentoring platform.

Details to register for or view the Program Information Video/Session are available on the mentoring platform home page. 

Questions may be directed to the Program Manager using the Contact Program Manager button on the mentoring platform. 

Questions?
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