Jason Carney, a 2013-2014 SYP who recently completed the MentorNet program, shares his experiences of working with his Mentor, Brian Gushulak.  Although SYP-Mentor pairs are offered monthly discussion modules on topics of their interest and choosing, many different mentorship models are possible and the arrangement is flexible. In the case of Jason and Brian, the pair decided to use the mentorship year to work on a global health writing and publication project, which is still ongoing. Read more to learn about Jason’s experiences!
– Shanna Sunley (@ShannAnderson), MentorNet Program Liaison
Writing for Publication as a MentorNet Model
When I met Brian at the beginning of the MentorNet year, I was at a point in my career where a focus on research seemed to provide opportunities for employment in the near future. In any case, it is valuable for a Global Health professional to have experience in several aspects of research design and implementation, and a few publications under their belt. During our first conversation, when deciding how the mentorship would progress over the next year, Brian kindly offered to structure the mentorship in any way that I thought would advance my career, help me to grow as a Global Health professional, and create opportunities for future employment. Brian agreed with my perception that research experience and publication was an important next step for a young professional, and we decided to collaborate on a writing project about a topic of common interest, with the goal of having the paper published in an academic journal.
With some knowledge of each othersâ background, finding a topic that worked well for both of us was an easy task, and was perhaps made so by the appropriate matching done by the MentorNet coordinators. For a few years now I have been studying the health impacts of mining and extractive industries, which has much to do with the migration of people into remote areas where the industry is booming. Brian is an accomplished expert on migration health with a few authoritative publications of his own on the topic. It didnât take long for the two of us to realize how our interests could come together in a useful and interesting paper that might apply the migration health framework to mining and extractive industries. At the time, we decided to try writing a policy paper to outline the possible actions of governments and companies to address the health impacts of migrant and mobile populations associated with extractive industries, and set out to create an outline and begin filling the sections as soon as I was able to review a bit more literature. I was quickly realizing the value of speaking with Brian over the phone once a month about a focused project, and was grateful to communicate and practice working towards a meaningful goal with a colleague.
While busy completing my contract at IDRC for the first few months of our collaboration, there was a delay in completing a first outline, but we continued to speak once a month and discuss the topics we had scheduled at the beginning of the mentorship; all having to do with the research and writing process, and enriched with information from our coordinator, Shanna. Once we got underway, Brian effectively provided guidance as we passed a draft outline of our paper back and forth. The next step was to begin writing the sections and including comprehensive citations. Some time went by and the sections were being written by both of us with phone conversations each month to discuss the progress. At about the mid-point of the year we stepped back and had a look at our writing, and realized that the format was getting away from a policy paper and the introduction was heavy with background literature. At this time, we had a conversation and decided that a review of the literature may be more appropriate for this topic, and would benefit my career because of the potential for many others to cite the paper into the future. I took the experience of this change as a learning opportunity that will have me looking at policy papers more closely for the remainder of my professional life. Instead, I will gain experience in writing a review for publication, and will become an expert about the research conducted on the topic of health impacts of migrant and mobile populations associated with extractive industries.
So, we again drafted a new outline in the format of a review and sent it back and forth along with monthly discussions. Up to this point, much of the review has been completed but work still continues beyond the end of the MentorNet year. I appreciate that Brian has indicated that our relationship will extend beyond the formal mentorship as we continue our writing project and stay in touch for the foreseeable future.
I have recently landed a job with the Government of Ontario at a Local Health Integration Network in Thunder Bay, and I spoke about my experience with writing for publication during my interview. I am sure that the hiring committee was impressed and the skills I have demonstrated will be useful in my role as a planning consultant. In addition, Brian had provided a great reference that helped me to secure the position. I look forward to working in the northwestern Ontario region where a large mining project, the Ring of Fire, will be established in the next few years, and I will be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the collaboration with Brian through MentorNet.
– Jason Carney, 2013-14 SYP
CSIH MentorNet 