MANAGER’S GUIDANCE ON INDUCTION, PROBATION AND MENTORING OF CLINICAL LECTURERS
Induction
The aim of induction is to help the new Clinical Lecturer to adjust to their new working environment and help them become effective as quickly as possible in their new role. In addition, it is likely to shape their perception of the role, the department and the University itself.
The induction should take place over a number of weeks during which time the new employee should:
-be introduced to colleagues and key people within the Department and/or the School
-be advised of the full range of duties and performance standards required in his or her post and informed of how progress will be reviewed and monitored
-be provided with information about the School of Clinical Medicine and the University
-be directed towards any mandatory departmental health and safety training
-be given access to any immediate training requirements in order for them to carry out the role
-be provided with any relevant information and support which will enable them to settle in quickly.
Your departmental administrator will work with you to develop a program for the Clinical Lecturer and will use the template induction checklists which are available on the HR website to achieve this. These lists are not exhaustive and can be amended to reflect individual or departmental requirements.
Your departmental administrator will also provide the Clinical Lecturer with a Welcome Pack containing all essential information including their role description, probation information and other key departmental/University policies and procedures.
Probation
The induction program runs alongside the more formal structured review process to assess progress under the probation scheme. The purpose of the probation period is to ensure that the Clinical Lecturer is able to gain a full understanding of the requirements of the post and to achieve a satisfactory level of performance.
The probation period for all Clinical Lecturers is 12 months. You should make appropriate arrangements to review progress regularly during the probation period, putting in place any actions and/or additional training and support as necessary. The meeting should be recorded on the relevant probation review forms which are available from your departmental administrator. All probation review forms once completed should be reviewed by the Head of Department.
Once the final probation meeting has been conducted, the outcome of the probation and record of the meeting together with the comments from the Head of Department will be forwarded to the Appointments Committee for review. Any recommendations from the Committee will be fedback to the Department.
If there are any concerns relating to the Clinical Lecturer’s performance please contact your departmental administrator and/or the Clinical School HR team for further advice at an early stage.
Mentoring
Before the appointment commences, you should agree with the individual and your Head of Department who will be the mentor of the new Clinical Lecturer.
The mentor should be an individual outside of the direct line management structure.
Mentors should be in a position to be able to offer insights and share their experiences on matters such as career planning, establishing networks and collaborations with other scientists and clinicians and on the management of students and staff. They should be able to give guidance on personal development, on leadership and on achieving the right balance between research, teaching and clinical work, and between work and the individual’s personal life.
A mentor can be external to the the employing Department or the School of Clinical Medicine. For example the Academy of Medical Scienceshas a mentoring scheme for postdoctoral clinical academics which is aimed to help this cohort thrive in academic medicine. Information on the scheme can be found at
Further information on mentoring can be found at and